A Brand New Sky to Hang the Stars Upon
by byhelenahandbasket
Summary: After a broken engagement turns her world upside down, Bella has a new roommate and a new life. Who will help her recover? AU, All human, canon pairs, occasional lemonade.
1. Prologue: Monkeywrench

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc

_Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

As Bella sat in the cafe, she remembered the most horrible day of her first grade year: the day she forgot to wear underwear to school beneath her dress.

There was tumbling that day.

Of course there was tumbling. If there hadn't been, she probably still would have felt like everyone somehow just _knew_ that she was half naked, but as it was, she got so excited about tumbling that she completely forgot she hadn't put her panties on and showed her classmates exactly what she was made of.

This moment was so, so very much like that moment. It felt like everyone knew about her, even though they couldn't possibly.

She was here for two things: to meet with someone she hoped would rent her a room in an apartment downtown and to make a delivery, both of which should be simple enough. But she knew, somehow, that it wouldn't be, and that soon every single person in the cafe would most likely get to watch her be humiliated.

She was here to deliver her wedding dress to her maid of honor.

Who was marrying Bella's fiancé, Tyler.

On the same day she was supposed to have married him.

In the same church.

With nearly all of the same bridesmaids.

With the reception in the same place (though she'd heard that they'd nearly forgotten to change the names on the cocktail napkins -- _ooops_).

So now, Jessica, her college roommate and former BFF of 6 years, was coming to buy the wedding dress, veil and fancy shoes that she'd helped Bella pick out in the spring. Bella contemplated why it had not seemed at all ominous at the time that her friend had tried it all on herself after Bella had bought it. She'd made a joke that Jess could be her stand in if she couldn't make a fitting. Apparently, Jess had been a stand in for a hell of a lot more than just a dress fitting.

Just two weeks ago, Bella had gone over to the house she and Tyler were going to be living in to transfer some of her books and things and have a little time to 'play house' before she moved in for good. She'd let herself in and stacked a few books on the shelf before she'd heard the noises. Expecting burglars, she'd looked around the corner of the kitchen to find the two people she trusted most in the world in a sexual position that she wouldn't have thought physically possible, completely lost in each other and screaming out professions of love, adoration, and how Bella was _nothing -- she's nothing to me --there's only you-- _and that was it. She left quietly, not really having room in her mind for what she'd just seen and desperately wishing for some bleach to pour into her eyes.

Last night had been a bittersweet evening of too much wine and pizza with Angela, the only former bridesmaid who wasn't still going to be Jess's bridesmaid, and Ben, Angela's ever-faithful boy toy thinking of ways it could have been worse. She could have found out far too late, like when she'd gotten knocked up with her and Tyler's fifth baby. She could have found out while she was already in her wedding dress and in front of every relative and friend she had. She could have seen herself and Tyler on some skanky internet site. She could have...

But really, there were only a few ways to put a positive spin on something like this. The only comfort she had was that she still had a little dignity left. _They_ looked like the bad guys. There was no possible way they could make it look like _she_ was the one with the problem.

Could they?

She was betting that they could, but still...

Bella shuddered a bit when she remembered going home to tell her parents that the wedding they'd been struggling to pay for would have to be called off. Charlie had sat there quietly, a vein in his forehead throbbing just a bit too quickly, his hand slowly creeping up to his belt where he usually kept his police issue handgun holstered. After a few quiet moments, Renee had burst into laughter causing both Bella and Charlie to jump.

"I always thought Tyler was a son of a bitch," she said, wiping tears from her eyes.

"But, I thought you liked him... you never said..." Bella fumbled.

"No, it wasn't Tyler I didn't like. It was his bitch of a mother. He is literally a son of a bitch. Damn. I'm so glad I won't have to pretend to like her any more."

The three of them had laughed in the way that people do when they can't seem to react in any appropriate way: slightly hysterically, loudly, and with tears.

They had just begun to catch their breath when there was a knock at the door. Tyler, along with Jess and his parents, came for what Bella was sure was one of the weirdest conversations anyone had ever been a part of. Ever. It began with Tyler's parents asking for the entire set of wedding bills for everything from the church to the cocktail mints. They offered to pick up all of the wedding gifts that had come from any of their friends or relatives and take care of them, so the Swans didn't have to be burdened. Charlie's face showed a brief bit of _ahh... they're doing the right thing_ satisfaction until the next thing that came out of The Bitch's mouth.

"We are so very happy for these two lovebirds and want to show our full support for their upcoming marriage. Although it's not the way we all originally intended it to be, we hope you will all join us at the church next Saturday. Same time, same place!"

That was when Bella first truly experienced what it meant to be without anything to say. What could be said to something like _that??_

Again, Renee had the right response: the laughter of hysteria. "Of course we will be there. With a gift. We wouldn't miss it for anything," her mother cooed as she jumped up, grabbed The Bitch's elbow and steered her to the front door, the men following obediently. Bella could have sworn that her mother gave Tyler's mother a shove on the way out before she slammed the door, nearly hitting Jess in the ass.

So here she was, the night that should have been for her wedding shower, a cup of lukewarm coffee at her elbow, the big white garment bag draped on the chair beside her, waiting for the happy couple to show up and buy that wretched wedding dress. If Bella kept a blog, she was sure that this story would go national. It would end up being one of those emails that just kept circulating everywhere for ages.

Cash.

It would have to be cash. No way in hell was she taking a check.

Then she was going to blow the cash on strippers or wild nights of tequila body shots or something.

Or maybe pay the rent, if this roommate interview went alright.

A high pitched giggle caught her attention and she knew that the games had begun. Jess was here.

Ugh.


	2. You're Not The One

Chapter 2: You're not the one

Chapter 2: You're not the one

For a split second, Bella had the urge to find an emergency exit and just leave the dress with a note that said _free to skanky home_ but she realized that she didn't have enough time. "Damn, should have come up with an exit strategy when I walked in," she muttered.

Next thing she knew, Jessica was making a mad dash through the cafe, dragging Tyler behind her while screeching, "Bellaaaaaaaahhhh!"

Bella was sure she heard glasses cracking and dogs whimpering.

"Bella! There you are! I was so worried about you. I knew something must have gone horribly wrong with you. Car wreck? Ill advised suicide attempt? Dismemberment in a cooking accident? What happened to you?" Jessica simpered.

"Uhhh..." was the only coherent thing Bella could summon up as she noticed that, indeed, every single person in the cafe was looking at them.

"Because, I mean, I know something had to be wrong with you. I mean, like, your best friend is getting married next weekend and I know you got an invitation and all since I was there when you got it and it had your name on it and you didn't respond with an RSVP card like you should have and that is just so not like you to be so, you know, rude and all so I just wondered what the hell had happened to you that you couldn't have just put a stamp on it and tossed it in the mail since this is the most important day in our life and it just wouldn't be the same if you weren't there to share it with us."

How in the world had Jessica gotten all of that out in one breath? Is she unaware that even conversation has punctuation, Bella wondered. Tyler just stood there, his hand on Jess's ass, trying to sneak a peek down Bella's shirt. Bastard. It is so on, thought Bella.

"Wow, Jessica. My best friend is getting married? Are you sure?" Bella asked, her eyes wide and innocent.

Jessica looked boggled for a minute. "Bella," she said quietly, "I'm talking about me. I'm getting married. Are you sure you're OK?"

"Ahh... that explains it. I was just confused. You said my best friend was getting married. You're just the skank that slept with my fiance," Bella said with a laugh.

Jessica's eyes narrowed and her lips tightened. It was not a good look for her. She plastered her lips to Tyler for a bit, even slipping in some tongue time before pulling back to ruffle his hair. "Hmmph. Darling, I'm going to go get a coffee. Can I get you anything sweetheart?"

Tyler just shook his head and Jessica strutted away, an unnatural sashay to her walk. Man, she's going to throw her back out doing that, Bella thought. Bella was distracted from Jessica when she realized Tyler had taken the seat just next to her.

"Bella," he sighed. "You know, it doesn't have to be all dramatic like this. We could be friends still and keep things like they were."

"Like they were? You mean, you're fucking Jessica while getting ready to marry me?"

"You always have to make everything sound so extreme. Just, you know, I still like you and all. I still would have married you, if you hadn't gone all psycho and broken it off like that. I mean, my parents like Jess more than they liked you, and we'll be happy, but I still want to see you. It doesn't have to be over between us. Maybe you and I can still meet up from time to time, you know. For old times sake."

Tyler eyed Bella with what she assumed he thought to be a seductive stare. Instead it just looked like one of those really creepy guys who follow girls around Victoria's Secret trying to imagine them in their bras and thongs. Gross. Why the hell hadn't she noticed all of this earlier? He was a caveman, and not in a sexy way. He was an absolute dick.

"Let me make sure I understand you Tyler sweetie," Bella purred. "You asked me to marry you last year, right?" Tyler nodded. "You started fucking Jessica sometime just after that, yeah?" Tyler nodded. "Best of both worlds, I guess. I mean, I was your virginal fiance, which is nice and all since you'd get to pop my cherry and that's a turn on for a guy like you, right? But you didn't have to wait for sex because you've got Jess all hot and willing in your bed and it's even more fun since she's my friend and it's forbidden. So naughty." Tyler gulped and nodded, lust clear in his eyes. "Now, by marrying Jessica you're marrying into a family that your parents like more, so that's a bonus. But, simple married sex would get to be a drag after awhile, so you're starting the process to get me set up as your girl on the side, right? I mean," Bella dropped her voice, "You think I'll love doing this to get some payback with Jessica and because you know you broke my heart and I'm still desperately in love with you."

By this time, Tyler had started to shift in his seat, clearly feeling the physical effect of his impending dream come true.

"I know you still want to pop my cherry, don't you?"

Bella sat back and looked at Tyler for a minute, making it look like she was considering his offer.

"Get real asshat," she laughed. "You aren't getting anywhere near me or my cherry, you prick."

"Daaaaayummm. Cockblocked!" she heard a deep voice choke out from the table beside her.

Jessica finally came back with some sort of frothy, whipped cream excuse for a coffee and parked herself in Tyler's lap making sure to adjust her (fake) cleavage just a bit. "So..." she sneered, drawing the vowel out interminably, "you two work out everything you needed to work out?"

Bella just laughed before grabbing up the garment bag. "Let's cut the bullshit Jess. I don't like you. I won't bother to wish you happiness, because your beloved is already looking for an alternate source of ass and I know he'll find someone somewhere willing to take him on. What I do want to do is get rid of this dress, and you seem to want it. So fork over the cash and drag Tyler off for a tumble in the backseat of your Daddy's car to mark your ownership."

Jessica choked on her whippachino drink before reaching into her purse to pull out her mom's checkbook.

"Oh no, absolutely not," Bella barked. "Cash, Jess. Knowing your mom, her check will bounce just like the silicone in your boobs."

"Fine! I'll go to the ATM. Tyler! Come!" Jessica stalked off, Tyler firmly in hand once again.

Bella sighed a bit before rubbing her forehead. She was starting to feel the twinge of a massive migraine and knew that she'd be lucky if she made it out of here without hurling on Tyler or ripping out Jessica's brand new extensions.

"Excuse me," said a soft, perky voice next to her. "I couldn't help but hear them call you Bella. I'm Alice Cullen. I'm here to meet you about the apartment...?" she trailed off uncertainly.

Bella turned to see five people sitting at the table next to her, all with varying looks of humor on their faces. Oh God, no. This was the no panties and tumbling moment she'd been dreading all day.

She must have looked appalled, because the gorgeous blond girl looked at her with a reassuring expression before saying, "You're doing great. They're scared to death of you. Just keep it up until they're gone."

"You're fun," rumbled the big guy next to the blonde. "I hope you'll be Alice and Edward's roommate. I could use the laughs."

"Well," mumbled Bella, "I'm not usually this... aggressive. I take it you were the, ah, cockblocker? Thanks for that. I think it increased his humiliation by at least double."

The others at the table chuckled before the one that said she was Alice hushed them. "They're about to walk in the door. Get your game face on."

Jessica stormed back in the door and dumped a pile of cash in front of Bella. "That dress had better be in perfect condition," she sniped.

"You were the last person to try it on," Bella sighed. "Are we done?"

"Not quite," harrumphed Jessica. "You still haven't RSVPed to the wedding. We need the final count. Your invite is for you and your plus one. So... got a hot date you can bring?" she snorted.

"Bella, I thought you'd already sent that to them and let them know we'd be there," purred the smoothest, sexiest voice Bella had ever heard. A hand carressed her shoulder as someone slipped into the chair next to her. Both Jess and Tyler looked like someone had just told them there was no Santa Claus.

"I, uh, well. I wasn't sure we had absolutely decided to go, but..." she stumbled.

"We'll be there," said The Voice, ticking off the yes box on the response card and slipping it back into the envelope. "Here you are. You can make the place cards out for Bella and Edward."

"Uhhh... s-s-sure. We'll... yeah. Bye Bella," stuttered Jessica as she turned and ran out of the cafe, Tyler in her wake trying to juggle the garment bag and shoe box.

Once they cleared the door, Bella deflated like a raft with a puncture and turned to look at the owner of that incredible voice, one she could clearly imagine saying very naughty things in her ear while he doing even more naughty things with the incredible body she was sure was attached to it. She wasn't wrong.

"It's nice to meet you Bella. I'm Edward. Edward Cullen. Alice's brother. What time is this wedding I'm taking you to?"

Top of Form

Bottom of Form


	3. Chapter 3: Take Me Now

Bella was pretty sure that she had been gawping at the owner of The Voice for significantly longer than was socially acceptable. But really, who could blame her, she thought. Someone who looked and sounded like that shouldn't just go around wielding his voice and his eye contact so indiscriminately. It was irresponsible. That much dazzle should be illegal -- or at least have to be spread out among a dozen different men to dilute it to a reasonable amount.

Public displays of affection had never been Bella's 'thing' and she had certainly never figured out how so many of her college classmates had so easily hooked up with someone the same night they'd met them at a party or a club. However, at that moment she could very easily picture herself running one hand under the hem of Edward's t-shirt, while the other dove into his mane of soft bronze hair as she sucked his full lower lip into her mouth. She'd wrap her legs around his waist as he grabbed her by the thighs and slid his clever fingers into...

Shit. She was fairly sure that everyone was now staring at her again as she realized that someone had asked her a question that she most certainly hadn't heard. She blinked her way back into reality and apologized for not getting the question.

"When is the wedding? The one I'm taking you to?" Edward gently asked.

"Oh. Umm... no. You're not taking me to the wedding," Bella faltered.

For some strange reason, Edward looked disappointed. Bella wanted to make sure, very sure, that he would understand that it wasn't him that was unacceptable.

"No, it's just that... I can't go. I mean, I can't. Saying that I'm going is one thing. It was certainly great for shock value and I've never seen Jess come so close to wetting herself in public, but... No. I can't actually go." Bella kept talking while the sane part of her mind urged her to just shut up already, but she couldn't seem to stop. She could not let herself be talked into going. She could handle a lot of things that life sent her way, but that wedding was not one of them.

"Hmmm..." Edward looked deeply into her eyes as if he wanted, no needed, to figure her out. "I guess... I shouldn't have interfered. It was presumptive of me. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, Bella."

"No. You didn't. And even if you had, it would have been worth it for the looks on their faces. It was... nice... to have someone stand up for me in front of them. Thanks," she finished in a small voice as her cheeks turned their trademark pink.

"That's one thing you'll have to get used to. Edward is always chivalrous! I'm sure he'll be your knight in shining armor any time you want, Bella," Alice teased.

This brought Bella very quickly back to the present -- her apartment roommate interview. She needed this -- to be back in the city, away from her family, and on her own. She needed to feel like she was capable and in control again. She did her best to assume a businesslike manner as she directed the conversation to the terms of her lease. "Let's start this interview, Alice. What would you like to know about me?"

The beautiful blonde girl and Alice just smiled. "Bella," the blonde laughed, "you've already passed the interview by the way you handled that creep. In fact, by the time you managed to work the word 'asshat' into your insult, I convinced Alice to drop the rent just to make sure you'd move in!"

Alice giggled while nodding her head vigorously. "Let me introduce my friends. Technically, only two of us live in the apartment: me and my brother Edward, who already managed to introduce himself. The outspoken one is Rosalie Hale, the even more outspoken and freakishly large one is Emmett McCarty, and this," Alice said while looking at the blonde man next to her with adoring eyes, "is Jasper Hale. Jasper does speak from time to time, I swear. Anyway, I figured it was best for you to meet everyone before you decided that you wanted to live with us."

"There are a few things you should know, though, before you agree to move in. Emmett and Rose don't live with us, but they're always there. We do our best to convince them that if they want to indulge in wild monkey sex, they'd better take it back to their own place. You might have to shoo them out from time to time, and quite possibly sanitize the kitchen counters." Bella must have looked a bit surprised at that since Rosalie blushed and chided Alice.

"What? I'm just telling the truth. Anyway, Jasper doesn't technically live there either, but visits often. We, however, take our wild monkey sex over to Jasper's apartment so you won't have to worry about that."

"Edward wouldn't know wild monkey sex if they was happening right in front of him. You will be sharing a bathroom with him since he's the other roommate, but like I said, my brother is the consummate gentleman, so you'll be totally safe."

The entire time that Alice was talking, Bella was forcefully reminded of a quote from Jane Eyre, one of her favorite novels. "It is as if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs, tightly and inextricably knotted to a similar string situated in the corresponding

quarter of your little frame," she had read Mr. Rochester declaring to Jane.

She had imagined many times how it would feel to have a connection like that to someone else, and now she knew exactly what Mr. Rochester (ironically, she realized, Edward Rochester) meant. She felt the strongest pull towards Edward, as if a string was pulling her towards him. Her end of the string, though, seemed to be attached to her nipples. It was as if they were suddenly alive and thinking for themselves and they needed to make contact with Edward's tall, lean frame. Her highbeams were becoming painful and she felt the urge to cross her arms across her breasts to hold them in place, but was afraid that would be too obvious.

Her mind seemed to have lost all control over her body, as her hands itched to fondle Edward's muscular thighs, or ruffle his hair, while her lips desperately wanted to attach themselves to the very lickable hollow at the base of his throat. By the time that Alice mentioned that she would be sharing a bathroom with Edward, Bella's mind was nearly undone, while her nipples rejoiced at the image of sharing a shower with Edward and his hot, wet mouth, which they already considered to be their rightful home.

There was no doubt about it. She should not be in or anywhere near an apartment, bathroom, car, cafe, wedding reception or anywhere else that contained the body and voice of Edward Cullen. This she knew with every bit of her rational mind.

And yet...

"Sounds great, Alice. When can I move in?" she said.

"Sunday afternoon. Just give me your address and Edward, Jasper and Emmett will be there bright and early to help pick up your stuff," chirped a very smug looking Alice as she put out her hand for Bella to shake.


	4. Chapter 4: Closer to the prize

The evening that Bella had expected would rate up at the top of a list of some of the worst in her life had worked out rather well in the end. She suspected that she was really going to enjoy living there. All of her would. Not just her nipples (which had been rather busy over the last few days coming up with ways to get the rest of Bella to do what they wanted to do with Edward).

It had been a bit off putting at first to mentally compare herself to the five others. She felt rather plain and simple next to them, but spending more time with them that evening had made them very human, if not quite normal.

Alice was a force to be reckoned with. She had more energy than a kindergartener newly gorged on Halloween candy. She also just seemed to know _everything_. Bella suspected that Alice knew about her nipples' craftiness and how they were drawn to Edward's body as if he had some sort of high powered magnet hidden on him. Alice had mentioned Edward's single status several times and in many creative ways. Bella had been a bit embarrassed, but had taken the point.

Rosalie was someone Bella would have been scared of if they had met in other circumstances. She was just so... perfect looking. She was the definition of phrases like "blond bombshell" and "curves in all the right places" (though what the hell someone would look like with curves in all the wrong places Bella couldn't figure out -- maybe like Mrs. Butterworth?), but that just seemed to be something that had happened to her, not who she was. She was just... nice.

Emmett was huge and cuddly and goofy. He was someone who could be taken as simple, too but Bella suspected that he was actually rather smart and someone who was _true_. He was the sort of person who said what he thought and could be absolutely trusted to do the right thing. He was owned by Rosalie, body and soul, and he seemed to love it.

Jasper was indeed quiet, but Bella guessed that when he spoke it would always be worth it to hear what he had to say. Also, Alice truly did talk enough for two people, quite possibly three when she'd consumed caffeine, so Jasper really didn't need to say much.

Which brought her to her new obsession: Edward Cullen. He was just... wow.

_Damn_, Bella _thought, I'm an English major and all I can come up with is 'wow'? Lame_.

But what else was there to say?

She could say that his hair was an astonishing color and seemed to be permanently stuck in a deliciously disheveled state. Clearly, God had made that hair specifically for some lucky girl to run her fingers through it while in the throes of passion. It would look fantastic on Bella's pillow.

Or maybe nestled against her chest (the thought of which pleased her nipples immensely).

Or possibly further south. Yes, definitely. The Hair would look very good there.

She could also say that his jawline was strong and well defined. It made him look clever and slightly stubborn. He sported a bit of stubble, and that, combined with his sex hair, made him look like the most edible hobo the earth had ever seen.

Did Bella just think about him being edible? Oh yes, she thought, edible, touchable, lickable... she'd first noticed a lovely hollow at the base of his throat, which made her gaze follow along his throat, past the Adam's apple and back onto his strong jawline. Her eyes had traced a path her lips ached to follow.

With that thought, Bella realized that both her lips and nipples had joined together to conspire against her self control.

Edward was tall and broad shouldered, but not in the huge muscle bound way that Emmett was. He clearly worked out, but not obsessively. Just enough to have built up some amazing stamina which would help him out during sustained, demanding physical activity.

Sweaty physical activity.

Activity that would cause his gorgeous hair to fall slightly into his breathtakingly green eyes.

During their evening in the cafe, Edward's eyes were something Bella had noticed in detail.

Edward seemed to have amazing control over his facial expressions. He didn't look upset or embarrassed when he was teased, but his eyes would flash with impatience or discomfort. She could spend ages just watching those eyes.

When Bella had left her table to sit at theirs, she had stumbled and reflexively reached towards him, since he was standing next to her, to steady herself. His arms had gone to her waist and hips to help her get her balance as he pulled her against his chest. He didn't let go.

Instead, he had looked down at her and his eyes darkened slightly as his lips parted. Bella hoped his reaction had been due to pleasant thoughts (smoldering, lusty thoughts), not from fear that he was about to have to live with a klutz.

The phrase, "eyes like the sea after a storm," popped into her mind as a perfect description of those eyes.

By the time that they had all parted at the end of the evening, Bella had noted with some dismay that even after two hours in Edward's company, she hadn't grown the slightest bit immune to him. Surely, though, that would wear off after a week or so. _How could it not?_ she thought. _He's just a boy._

Here she was, though, the night before she was set to move in with him, no with _them_ she had to remind herself yet again, faced with the prospect of sharing a bathroom with Edward. This had, irrationally, caused a frantic trip to Target to find new shampoo and soap when she suddenly realized that she had been using the same damn strawberry shampoo since fifth grade. She had become a cliché of herself! It was time to find something different, something citrus or floral or... just not strawberries -- anything but strawberries.

She needed sexy shampoo.

The shampoo aisle must have had a hundred different types and scents of shampoos, none of them labeled sexy, and Bella suddenly remembered why she had used the same damn shampoo and conditioner since fifth grade. She always just ran in, grabbed the familiar bottles and ran back out. This aisle was scary. There were just too many potentially wrong choices to make. What if she bought something that smelled bad?

Strawberries it was. Again.

While she was at it, she grabbed the same old body wash and a big bag of toilet paper. Edward seemed like the type to have been a Boy Scout, but she didn't want to rely on his being 'always prepared' to extend to him providing toilet paper for their bathroom.

_Their bathroom_.

Bella sighed at how... intimate that sounded, while reminding herself yet again that they were not really sharing it in the way her rebellious body wanted to share it (Edward pressed up against the shower wall as she kissed and slid her way down his wet, glistening chest...).

She ran by the pharmacy and picked up her birth control pills, then passed the tampon aisle on the way to the registers.

Tampons. Damn. She was going to have to stash those somewhere. Nothing was more of a turn off to a guy than a girl's menstrual issues.

Suddenly, sharing a bathroom seemed like the least sexy thing possible, a thought which reminded her of Alice.

At their 'interview' in the cafe, Bella had asked about the layout of the apartment. Alice described a basic, if spacious layout, with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, roomy kitchen and living room, and a laundry space. One bedroom had its own bathroom, and the other two bedrooms were connected by the shared bathroom. Edward had one of those bedrooms and Bella would have the other one. It crossed her mind quickly that surely a brother and sister were better off sharing the joined bathroom than two strangers of the opposite gender.

"Yeah, Alice really needs her own bathroom," chuckled Emmett, as everyone else at the table laughed knowingly. Alice met Bella's eyes with a half smile and a shrug.

"You, ah, take a lot of time to get ready or something?" Bella asked, while feeling silly about her question. Alice was gorgeous, impeccably dressed and made up. Of course she took a long time.

"That's not it," laughed Emmett. "She can't poop if she shares a bathroom."

Bella swore that after that things got so silent that she might have heard a far off cricket chirp. Alice simply shrugged again.

"Oh. Well. OK. I'll... sure. I'll share with Edward, of course," Bella said and allowed the conversation to drift to more normal topics like whether or not the yellow powder in macaroni and cheese really had any dairy component to it at all.

Now, though, one week later standing at the register, Bella realized the folly of her choice. She was going to have to poop in a bathroom she shared with Edward!

_Shit_.

Could she manage to always do it while she was out? Ick, no.

Whatever, she concluded. It's not as if she truly stood a chance with someone like him anyway.

This was definitely not going to be easy.

Back at home, Bella put the last of her books in boxes, hesitating again over whether it was better to throw away some of her most ragged paperbacks or keep them. It just seemed so wrong to actually throw a book away. She did hold Wuthering Heights in her hand for awhile, feeling that if there was any book she would toss, it would be this one. She had read it so many times, always trying to figure out why it was so highly regarded. Sure, it was a classic, but Heathcliffe was horrible and that Cathy was such a bitch. The love triangle? Cathy dicking around the men she claimed to love? Who does that kind of thing?

In the end, she couldn't bring herself to get rid of it and taped it up with everything else. The boys would be there early in the morning to help her move.

It was going to be a hot day tomorrow, too, if the weatherman was to be believed. Maybe if she was very lucky, Edward would get really sweaty and have to take off his shirt while he was lifting one of her boxes.

_Nnngghh_. She could just imagine the flex of his muscles and the look of concentration in his eyes.

That image made her think of other things that would make him flex and concentrate.

No doubt about it. Bella was in big trouble.


	5. Chapter 5: You Make Me Break Out

Chapter 5: You Make Me Break Out

A/N: Thanks so much for reading and for your reviews. I'm having a lot of fun with this story. Anyone notice a pattern with the titles yet?

Some links to help with this chapter. Check the profiles to see the links about the wedding dresses.

Chapter 5: You Make Me Break Out

Edward Cullen was a man of absolute self control, and he was rather proud of that fact.

Of course he felt anger, sadness, lust and all of the normal emotions and urges just as much as the next person, but he felt no compulsion to act on them when it was better to just push them away.

When his sister Alice suggested that they rent the third bedroom in their apartment, the one with the bathroom he shared, to a girl, Edward knew that would not be a problem for him. He simply wouldn't get involved in any entanglements. It wasn't the right time for a relationship and the base satiation of his physical needs was not worth the trouble to be had from shagging your roommate. It might be simpler if the girl was ugly as a troll, but she could be a supermodel, and it wouldn't bother him.

He simply wouldn't allow it to.

He left to go to the cafe with his sister and friends feeling rather smug about the strength of his resolve. He, along with the others, looked around the cafe trying to figure out which girl was the potential roommate, hoping for a bit of time to watch her before the interview started, just so he knew what he was getting himself into.

He immediately relaxed. There were several girls that could possibly be the one they were there to interview and none of them posed a threat to the Great Wall of Edward's Resolve. Pretty, perhaps, but clearly dull, ordinary, or annoying. Life with them in the apartment might not be interesting, but it would be safe.

Then he saw _her_ walk in. He saw a small, curvy body; long dark hair and a gigantic white garment bag, one which seemed bigger than the girl herself. She wove her way through the tables and set her things down at the table right next to them...

...and Edward was lost.

He wasn't sure why. She was not the sort of girl who would be a model in a magazine, though he knew he would love to have many and assorted pictures of her. She was not the sort of girl who looked exotic and mysterious, though he could tell right off that she wasn't ordinary. She was just...

...just right.

Just right for him.

_Oh God, please do not let this girl be the potential roommate_, he prayed right as his sister Alice chirped, "That's her, I just know it!"

_Shit_.

An overeager boy from the cafe came and took her order at the table and the girl sat down and tried to arrange her things around her: shoebox, garment bag, purse, phone, notebook. She seemed to be fidgeting more than Alice, though she didn't look like a fidgeter.

She also looked distinctly unhappy and Edward found himself wanting to gather her in his arms and stroke her hair while gently kissing away that sadness.

Not good.

_For once, let Alice be wrong_, he thought.

In the meantime, the low chatter of Alice and Rosalie continued on and he was able to determine that it was about the contents of The Big White Garment Bag sitting next to the girl. The name on the bag meant nothing to him, but apparently to the girls it was some sort of Holy Grail of wedding dress design. It was not just a dress, it was _A Dress_, capitalized and italicized, that much was clear from their tone of voice.

Within minutes, Alice had pulled out her laptop and Googled the designer. The resulting wistful, female sigh caught Edward's attention. Rosalie and Alice were both very impressed and started to speculate about which dress was in The Big White Garment Bag.

Normally, this sort of girly fashion stuff would not interest Edward, but suddenly the thought of _that girl_ in a beautiful wedding dress, blushing her way down an aisle towards him as he leaned in and swept her hair aside before kissing her smooth, sweet neck reminded Edward that he was indeed very... interested in this girl. Uncomfortably so, he realized as he shifted in his seat to try to rearrange himself.

Alice turned to him with a smirk as she angled the laptop towards him. "Which one do you think she chose?" Alice asked, one eyebrow arched mockingly.

Edward glanced at the dresses before catching his breath just a little. _Act casually_, he thought. "I don't know. Maybe that one," he said as he shrugged and pointed lazily (he hoped) at one of the dresses.

The fact that the model was also a brunette with lovely full lips was not lost on him.

The fact that Jasper and Emmett seemed to really appreciate the model was also not lost on him.

The fact that he found _that girl_ infinitely more attractive than the model on the webpage was extremely troubling to him.

He was not enjoying the direction the evening was heading in.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the girl's posture had shifted and tensed. She swallowed hard and her chin lifted just slightly. Suddenly, all of her nervousness seemed to leave and be replaced by fierce determination.

He and his sister and friends were astonished at what they heard going on. It wasn't that they were trying to listen, but it was all happening at a rather loud volume, right next to their table, and honestly it was so like some utterly bizarre episode of Jerry Springer that they couldn't look away.

Of three things, Edward was absolutely certain: first, this Tyler was an utter moron to take that siliconed, over made-up skank instead of Bella. Second, Bella was a virgin, but if she lived with him, he was going to have a damn hard time leaving her like that for long. Third, there was no way she was not going to move in with them. It would be worth every single day of discomfort and every throb of his increasingly blue balls. He wasn't sure how or when, but she had to be his.

Edward realized after a bit that he had stopped paying attention to whatever was being said and had simply been staring at Bella like a silly schoolboy. He thought that at some point the word _cockblocked_ had been used, but he was too dazed to follow. His focus came back abruptly when The Skank was trying to humiliate her about not having a date to the wedding and before he knew it, he was standing behind Bella and actually touching her hair. He tried to pass it off as a touch on her shoulder and was glad that he hadn't actually gone so far as to sweep her hair aside, bend down and kiss his way up her neck, like he had wanted to.

"Bella, I thought you'd already sent that to them and let them know we'd be there," he heard himself say lovingly.

_What the Hell am I doing?_ the rational part of his mind yelled as some other part of his mind or body (his very blue balls perhaps?) introduced himself as Bella's date to the wedding.

It was worth it, though, when Bella blushed as she went along with it, and to see those two ridiculous and perfectly matched nasties walk out with absolutely nothing to say.

He just hoped that Bella wouldn't run away screaming from him when Jessica and Tyler finally left the cafe.

When she gently, if confusedly, turned down his offer to escort her to the wedding, he found himself irrationally disappointed. He should be relieved that she wasn't participating in his temporary insanity, but as soon as the words, "what time is the wedding," left his mouth, he'd had a vision of Bella in a slinky silk dress, his hand on the small of her back as he swept her out on a dance floor. That dream had popped like a soap bubble, but he stored it away for the future.

For the rest of the evening, as they went through introductions and polite chatter and terms of rent, Edward felt like someone watching a film of something happening to himself. He was fairly sure that he had spoken at the right times and figured it had sounded relatively normal, but he was stuck in a looped scene that simply would not go away: inviting Bella to sit at their table and then, as she stumbled, catching her soft, warm, sweet smelling body in his arms and pulling her into him like she belonged right there, against his chest and like he had no intention of letting her go.

Ever.

Which he hadn't.

If they hadn't had an audience, he was fairly sure that he would have slid his hands down to her perfect ass and lifted her up so she could wrap her legs around him. He would slide his hands under her shirt to cup the breasts that had nestled so perfectly against his own chest. He'd center her warm heat against his arousal and press her in so she could feel exactly what her nearness did to him. He'd devour that perfect mouth of hers and find the spot on her neck that would make her writhe and whimper and give herself to him with abandon. He'd tease and pinch those pert nipples he'd had just a bit of acquaintance with until Bella screamed his name.

As it was, his hands had been on their way right down to that ass of hers as a slight cough from Jasper helped Edward recover his grip on reality and he was able to play it off (he hoped) as settling his hands on her hips as he steadied and released her.

Everyone at his table was perfectly aware of what had just happened to Edward, but Bella seemed to simply be embarrassed at her clumsiness. Edward had high hopes that she would be an absolutely dreadful klutz so he would have many, many more chances to repeat that night's performance.

When they'd finally said goodnight and shaken hands, he had held onto Bella's hand just a bit longer than necessary. His hands seemed to have developed a mind of their own and ached for the feel of Bella's nipples against their palms.

Edward could feel himself saying goodbye to his old friend Self Control.

He wasn't sure he'd miss it all that much, now Bella was in his life.

Which was why, on a Friday afternoon, he was standing in his bathroom, soon to be _their_ bathroom, scrub brush in hand doing a mental inventory.

He had stocked up on toilet paper. He hoped that having 40 rolls on hand would make her feel welcome. He knew girls used more toilet paper than guys and wanted to be sure that they wouldn't run out any time soon.

He'd cleared all of his stuff out of the cabinet in the bathroom because Alice had mentioned Bella would need a place to put her 'girl stuff.' (Edward had been running to the store for Alice's 'girl stuff' for years, but she still spoke about it in code.)

He'd gone to the store and spent an inordinate amount of time in the shampoo and soap aisles trying to find something that would smell good, no not good – sexy and enticing -- to a girl. He had ended up boggled at the choices and went with what his mom had always bought him. Maybe in the future he could manage to take Bella shopping and get her opinion on what smelled nice to her. He'd have to figure out a way to make it not so obvious that he was trying to lure her in by his scent.

He'd cleaned the bathroom, his bedroom, the kitchen, and the living room earlier in the week and again today. He was a tidy guy, but still, he wanted to be sure that she'd really like living there.

Sure, there was Emmett's sense of humor and Rosalie's demeanor and Jasper's quiet and Alice's... Aliceness for Bella to get used to. Those were no small obstacles.

But mostly, Edward was afraid that between his itchy palms and his blue balls, he'd lose control of his usual gentelmanly and well behaved manner and effectively go caveman on Bella. And not in a good way.

He was going to be walking a fine line with her. He wanted to really get to know her, not just _want_ her. He wanted her to want him for him, not just because his soap smelled good. He wanted to give her space to recover from Tyler without leaving any room for any other guy to slip in, and he was sure the competition would be lining up in no time.

Mostly, what he wanted was for her to look at him like his mom looked at his dad. His parent's love was amazingly strong, even after 30 years, and he wanted that for himself. He suspected that, if his sister and friends were to be believed, he was well on his way to looking at her like Carlisle looked at Esme when she walked into the room.

Tomorrow was the big day. He, Emmett and Jasper were taking Emmett's Jeep over to Bella's to help her move. It was supposed to be a hot, sunny day and he had already imagined Bella in various combinations of small shirts and smaller shorts. He'd imagined the way her neck would look when she pulled her hair up to cool off. He wondered if he could somehow have to end up taking off his shirt and whether or not Bella would check him out.

When the hell had become such a peacock? _Check me out?_ He had to laugh at himself for that. He sounded like Emmett.

No doubt about it. Edward was in big trouble.


	6. Chapter 6: Breathing On My Own

Moving day dawned clear and cool

Moving day dawned clear and cool. Bella had to admit that she was mildly disappointed, having hoped for a nice, hot day that would end with Edward being shirtless and glistening. _Ah well_, she thought, _maybe there will be a midday heat wave_.

After a quick shower, Bella had thrown on a fitted tank with a shelf bra, (since nothing is more uncomfortable than a sweaty bra) and a t-shirt over that, finishing with her most comfortable and ratty khaki shorts. She bunched her hair into a pony tail, taped up the very last box that held her toiletries and pajamas and was ready just as she heard the knock on the front door.

Angela opened the door, since she was closer, and the sight before them caused both girls to freeze.

Before them stood Emmett, in all of his muscled glory; Jasper, looking like the consummate surfer/soulful artist/philosopher/everything sexy that he was; and Edward, looking like... Edward. It was the most beautiful grouping Bella had ever seen, and also, apparently, the most beautiful thing Angela had ever seen as well. She'd seemed to have forgotten about Ben at that point and spent the rest of the morning shamelessly ogling the guys as they bent, lifted and stacked up Bella's things, piling them into the bed of her truck, Emmett's Jeep and Edward's Volvo.

Bella still felt badly about that. A car as nice as his didn't seem appropriate for moving boxes. She did notice, though, that the backseat of the car looked particularly roomy and comfortable. She filed that thought away for future retrieval.

It didn't take them long to finish at Angela and Ben's place. Bella didn't have much, though since so many of the boxes were books, what she had was heavy.

Most importantly, though, the entire process was gotten through with no one breaking a sweat. _Damn_, thought Bella. She took comfort in the fact that no sweat meant that she wasn't gross and funky smelling. That, at least, was something to be glad about.

They traveled in a caravan to the apartment and started loading up the elevator to move her things upstairs. Once again, it didn't take long and no one got sweaty. Alice seemed to have taken on the task of tactical director of the moving process, Rosalie appointed herself as the elevator door keeper-opener and Bella was 'not allowed' to move the boxes herself, according to Emmett, but instead was to tell them where she wanted her things.

Alice was extremely excited to have Bella there and seemed to accomplish the feat of being everywhere at once: in the hall holding open the door, in the living room supervising the stacking of boxes, and in Bella's room looking on with barely concealed dismay as the boxes were opened to reveal lots of books and CDs, but very few clothes.

Bella managed to keep Edward in her periphery all day. If she wasn't blatantly staring at the way his shirt stretched over his shoulders when he lifted a box, or the way his calf muscles went taut when he knelt to set down a box, then she was watching out of the corner of her eye as he brushed back his perpetually messy hair or stretched his muscles out a bit when they were done with another trip on the elevator.

He was magnificent.

The six of them settled down to a late lunch of beer and pizza, traditional moving day food, Emmett informed Bella. She walked around her new space while finishing her lunch, all the while trying to keep Alice from unpacking all of her boxes for her.

"It will be easier if you just let her do it. She always wins," Edward whispered in her ear as his hand brushed the small of her back. She desperately hoped that he wouldn't notice the way she shivered and the fact that her nipples had reacted favorably to his proximity.

She had noticed his eyes on her a lot that morning, but had forced herself to chalk it up to worry about whether or not she was going to turn out to be normal or instead reveal herself to be some freaky roommate out of a bad sitcom.

But a quick replay of the morning's events made her realize that that brush of his hand a minute ago had been one of many similar small touches. Was he... interested? She couldn't make herself stop thinking about him. At this rate, she figured, she was well on the way to turning into a creepy stalker roommate. She could just imagine herself keeping a journal about what he ate for breakfast or when he'd showered or what time he'd left the house on any particular day.

Bella shook off that thought for the moment and went to check on what was happening in her new room. Indeed, Alice was already halfway through hanging up Bella's clothes, already muttering about shopping, "under strict supervision from now on if this is how you dress..." and Bella couldn't watch any more.

"You can just rearrange it all later when she's not looking," Edward said just loud enough for Alice to hear and glare in his direction. "Let me show you around." Bella looked behind her to see him leaning against the doorframe casually, looking like some sort of gloriously scruffy fashion model.

By the time he had shown her most of the apartment (except his room), Alice had unpacked all of Bella's clothes, and her books and CDs were in towering stacks around the room. When Alice started to shelve them, Bella couldn't stay away any longer.

"No! Please don't" she begged.

Alice looked like a toddler who'd been told she had to stop unwrapping her Christmas presents _right now young lady_.

"It's just... I have a system. It doesn't make sense to anyone else, but... Listen. I'll leave the clothes just like you did them. Just... leave the books and music alone. Please," Bella pleaded.

Alice pressed her lips together and exhaled slowly. "Great. You sound just like _him_," she fumed, pointing at Edward. "System... How hard can it be to throw some books and CDs on a shelf... Stop laughing Edward. It's not funny that she seems to be as OCD as you are."

"I'm OCD? Fine then, Alice, I'm going to your room to mess with your shoes..." Edward taunted while striding off to Alice's room. "I might even use your bathroom while I'm there."

At that, Alice took off in a sprint, vaulting over the sofa like she was in a track meet and tried to tackle Edward, but Emmett grabbed her in midair. "Slow down there, Flash. You might scare Bella off," he cautioned.

Bella laughed at them, realizing a bit what she might have had to go through if she'd had siblings. Being an only child had its perks. A quick look around her room revealed that she had left some things in one of the cars and a look out the window made it clear that the sunny weather was nearly at an end.

"Emmett, Edward, can I borrow your keys, please? I think I left a few things behind and I want to check before it rains."

Edward hopped up from the couch and grinned at her. "I'll go with you."

"Oh, no... just... I'll be fine. It isn't much..." Bella stammered, having been caught off guard by his grin. _Damn, that grin is like some sort of weapon_, she thought. _He could totally disarm a room with it_.

"Now what kind of gentleman would I be if I allowed you to carry up potentially heavy boxes by yourself?" Edward joked as they walked to the door together. He pulled open the door and stepped back to let her pass in front of him. "Besides," he said as he leaned in close to her ear and tugged on her pony tail, "it gets me away from Alice."

Living with Edward was going to be very, very difficult.

--

Living with Bella was going to be very, very difficult.

When her friend had opened the door that morning, Edward's eyes had immediately locked on Bella like he was a hunter and she was some sort of prey he was stalking. It had been like that all day long. He somehow always knew where she was and what she was doing; and he could hear her low, sexy voice from any point of whatever room they were in. He'd never been so aware of one woman before and it was disconcerting.

He also hadn't been able to keep his hands to himself. He'd tried not to allow himself to paw at her, and had tried to make all the touches look like accidents, but his hands had clearly developed minds of their own and their only goal was to make as much contact with Bella's body as possible.

He felt like he could already start some sort of list of things he liked about her. She was dressed just as comfortably as he was so she was clearly low maintenence, she wasn't (oh fuck) wearing a bra, she had a ton of books and CDs, she wore her hair in a pony tail that let him look at her neck (an area that he was sure would feature in many a fantasy-fest to come), she ate nearly as much pizza as he and Emmett did and with each brush of his hand against her, all day, she would shiver a bit and her nipples would tighten up delightfully. He hoped she'd often not wear a bra.

_Damn_, he groaned internally, _when did I become such a sex crazed pervert? If she knew what I was thinking, she'd run straight out the door._

He remembered how Alice had talked to him yesterday with a frustrating mixture of teasing and serious caution. Alice had informed him, in some sort of spooky voice-from-the-beyond that she 'could clearly see' the two of them ending up together.

"It will happen, Edward. I'm sure of it. And when it does, I will make sure I've moved out, because I have a feeling she'll be a screamer. But... she needs time." She'd gone on to tell him what he had already figured out for himself at the cafe: Bella had been hurt by her broken engagement. She'd do better in the long run if she worked past all of it before jumping into anything with Edward.

"You'll need to keep your gentleman thing going. Woo her. Make her feel like she's the most important thing in the world to you. I have a feeling that she will be to you, soon. Ugh," Alice shuddered. "You two are going to be disgustingly in love."

Now, standing in the elevator with Bella, probably a bit too close to her zone of personal space, Edward could feel himself falling already. He couldn't just chalk it up to lust. He liked _her_. They walked past her truck and Emmett's Jeep and didn't see the boxes, so they headed to Edward's car. His trunk was clear, so he opened up the back passenger door. There were two small shoebox sized packages on the floor behind the driver's seat. Bella smirked at him. "I told you I could carry them myself," she laughed as she crawled in to pick up the boxes.

Edward was frozen in place, watching Bella lower herself onto her stomach and slide across the backseat, then reach down to grab the boxes.

She looked so, so good sprawled across the backseat of his car.

Boxes in hand, she sat up and started to scoot back out of the car only to be startled by a huge clap of thunder that seemed to come from directly above them. Edward reflexively jumped into his car and shut the door, knocking Bella against the driver's side door in the process. He flung out his hands to try to cushion her head before it could bang on the window and just barely made it.

They sat there for a moment: Bella half reclined, one leg in the well of the passenger side seat, one leg stuck behind Edward who was leaning over her, chest nearly pressed against her, both of his hands tangled in her hair as he lifted her head towards him. Clearly, neither of them was able or willing to move just then.

A second very loud crack of thunder startled them into resuming a more normal position while sighing just a bit at the loss of contact.

"Bella," Edward said looking worriedly into her eyes, "did I hurt you?"

"No, Edward. I'm fine."

He reached up slowly to brush some of her hair away from her face and neck before saying, "Come on. We'd better run before the rain gets too heavy."

They'd sprinted back to the building, Edward reaching back to grab onto Bella's hand as she slowed a bit since she was trying not to slip in the puddles. The rain had only been falling in a few spaced out, fat drops while they were in the car, but as they ran the skies had opened and they both got completely soaked.

During the elevator ride back up, they had kept to their own physical space a bit more, but both of them were acutely aware of the other.

Edward's black t-shirt had gotten so wet that it was like a second skin, giving Bella quite a preview of exactly what Edward had to offer. He ran his hands through his hair shaking out some of the water and Bella longed to do it for him. He looked straight ahead the whole time, though, and Bella figured that she must look so like a drowned rat that he wasn't interested at all anymore. She wished she could stop trying to look at him so much, but she didn't know when she might get the chance to see him like that again, and a wet Edward was a sight to behold.

Edward was determined to keep looking straight ahead. If he let himself look at her again, he might just press her up against the wall of the elevator and ravish her. He could still so clearly see her sliding across the back seat of his car and that image, combined with how her shirt was currently plastered to her luscious breasts was nearly his undoing. When they got to their floor, he pressed the door open button and motioned for her to go first. Being a gentleman had its advantages: he could allow his inner caveman to stare lustfully at her firm backside in those wet shorts as she walked to their apartment.

_Their apartment_.

That sounded so damn good that he nearly exploded right then and there.

Alice met them at the door and took the boxes from them while passing them some towels. "Stay right here until you stop dripping. Give me your shirt Edward," she commanded.

"Alice..." he groaned while shifting his eyes to Bella.

"You too, Bella. You won't be completely indecent in your tank. I don't want you dripping across the whole apartment."

Bella and Edward looked at each other for a moment, then away as they both nodded reluctantly.

Though she was pretending not to look, Bella clearly saw as Edward's shirt skimmed across his abs and chest and in the brief moment when his face was covered with his shirt, her gaze locked right on the space between his navel and the button to his shorts. She loved that he was a boxer briefs man.

Though he was pretending not to look, Edward clearly saw as Bella's shirt skimmed across her stomach and cleared her breasts and in the brief moment when her face was covered with her shirt, his gaze locked right on her taut, perfect nipples. He loved that tank top.

Alice snatched away their shirts and ran off yelling, "leave your shoes at the door. No footprints!"

Edward flipped off his Chucks and used his feet to situate them against the baseboard. Bella tried to do the same, but had tied them too tightly. Before she could bend down to untie them, Edward had knelt and was untying her laces for her. His fingers skimmed her calves and then he stood back up slowly, very much within her personal space, this time allowing himself to look at her from toe to head before meeting her eyes. He brushed some of her wet hair back over her shoulder and noticed a drop of water that slid from her collar bone down into the valley between her breasts.

His fingers ached to follow that water drop, but instead he allowed his eyes to follow and to linger. He never wanted to look away from the beauty of her skin.

Bella stood before him, feeling as if instead of having only removed her outer shirt, she had stripped completely for him. But rather than feeling shy or uncomfortable, she just felt _right_. She wanted him to look at her and never look away. Something in Edward's eyes shifted and he took a step towards her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" roared Emmett from the living room, shaking both Bella and Edward from their little bubble.

"I'm not cheating, Emmett. I'm just winning," gloated Jasper and the sounds of a very violent video game drifted in to the hall.

Both Edward and Bella exhaled and seemed to realize that whatever little moment they had just been absorbed in was now broken.

"I'm going to get a shower," Bella muttered as she walked away. "Oh, I mean, do you mind if I... I mean, we're sharing and I don't want to assume..."

"No, of course not. You go ahead. Ladies first, after all," smiled Edward knowing that he was going to be extremely distracted by the thought of Bella in the shower. Was it going to be like that every day?

"Bella, do you have sheets to fit your bed? I forgot to tell you that we have king sizes in all of the rooms," Alice yelled from her room.

"Oh, ahh..." suddenly Bella was overcome with a vision of Edward and herself tangled up in the sheets of a very large, very comfortable bed.

Alice and Rosalie came out carrying six bagged sets of bedding. Alice told Bella to pick two sets, claiming that Bella couldn't pay her back and this was part of "landlord duties." Bella was able to eliminate three sets very quickly (flowery, butterfly-ey, and one that was covered with ten shades of pink polka dots). The next three were harder to choose from, but eventually she chose the two she liked best. She looked up to see Alice scowling and Edward looking very smug.

"Hmph. You picked his choices, not mine," Alice grumbled.

_Oh God_, Bella thought, _I'm going to be sleeping on sheets Edward chose for me. _The image of her and Edward busy and very happy in those very sheets came to mind. _I am never going to get that image out of my mind._

--

The apartment was much quieter now that Emmett and Rosalie had gone home and Jasper and Alice had gone to his place (presumably for some of that hot monkey sex Alice promised occurred only off the premises). Bella was pleased to find that being alone with Edward was not awkward. So far.

She was currently standing in her room facing her stacks of books and CDs and bare shelves. Edward was picking up random CDs and putting them down, looking at some longer than others.

"The soundtrack for _The Sound of Music_?" he laughed.

"It's a classic," Bella mumbled absently, having started to pick up books.

"So, what's your book system? Alphabetical authors from Austen to Wharton?"

"Not really. By genre first, with genres I read most coming before those I read less often, by preferred author within the genre and chronologically within each author. Sometimes, though, I pair up authors with connections near each other."

"Hmmm... so romantic BritLit all together, Jane Austen first of course, and all her books in order of publication?" Edward asked.

"Not exactly. More like classic romantic literature, starting with Edith Wharton because she's my favorite, her books in order of when they were written, not necessarily by when they were published. Next to her goes Henry James, even though Austen is my second favorite, because she and James wrote to each other often and influenced each other tremendously."

"Wow. I can see why you wouldn't want Alice to do that for you. She'd probably rank them by color of the cover or the print," Edward laughed. "So, while you do your books, mind if I do the CDs?"

"Umm... actually, I have a system for those, too."

"I'm sure you do. But, let me do it for you now and if you don't like it, just redo it later. I won't be like Alice and pitch a fit if you rearrange it all."

Bella wondered if this was Edward trying to be charming. If he wasn't trying now then she was sure that when he did, the effect would be devestating. His eyes, the tone of his voice, his physical proximity... it all made her ready to aquiesce to anything he might ask her at that moment.

And she did mean anything.

Feeling like she was struggling to swim to the top of a very deep swimming pool, she summoned back her ability to speak and said, "Show me."

"Give me a minute."

He began to pull CDs out of every stack, carefully arranging them into some sort of grouping. Bella just sat back to watch. He looked so, so good here in her room. After a bit, he showed her a stack of CDs and Bella found herself very intrigued.

Led Zepplin, Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Queens of the Stone Age, Nine Inch Nails, Queen, Garbage.

She could see the obvious Dave Grohl link (_mmmm... Dave Grohl... _she swooned in her head) between the Foos and Nirvana. "OK," she began to think aloud. "Dave Grohl drummed for both Queens of the Stone Age and Nine Inch Nails. Brian May from Queen plays with them sometimes... Their cover of _Have a Cigar_ is amazing... John Paul Jones played on a Foo Fighters record and they love Zepplin... Dave has a Zeppliny tattoo... Didn't Dave play with Garbage as well and Butch Vig produced Nirvana..."

It took her awhile, but when she was done she looked at Edward confidently. He looked both surprised and gratified. "Spot on, Bella," he said quietly.

The air in the room seemed to crackle with what was neither said nor acknowledged. At that point, both of them knew beyond a doubt that they were either going to be best friends if the sexual tension went away, or that this was it. _The real thing_. Neither of them had ever met anyone so compatible before.

That thought, though, brought Bella straight back down to earth. She was one week away from what would have been her wedding day to the guy she had previously thought she had a wonderful connection with. She'd been horribly wrong once before. How could she possibly trust that this time she was right? She must be insane for sitting there, just a few hours into her acquaintence with Edward, thinking that they were some sort of supernaturally fated soulmates.

Edward sat there watching as Bella clearly underwent some sort of internal emotional wrestling match and was very aware of the point at which the light left her eyes and the pain settled back in. What he wouldn't give to never see that there again. He heard Alice's voice in his head cautioning him to take it slow. He let the silence stretch out for a bit before he casually said, "So... if I do this, do you think you'll ever find any CDs you're looking for or is it too much of a departure from your own system?"

Bella laughed, seemingly relieved for a diversion. "You go right ahead. I might have to put it all back into my order later, but I'll have fun trying to figure your way out in the meantime. It's like some bizzarre musical Wikipedia arrangement."

The rest of the evening was relaxed and comfortable again and the tension stayed at a low, manageable level that let them both delude themselves into thinking that things were fine as they were. That they could handle this.

Whatever _this_ was.

--

Over the next few days, Alice exercised great restraint about the issue of Bella attending Jessica and Tyler's wedding. She only mentioned it three or four times a day, every day. She seemed to think that it was the only thing Bella could do, in order to make the point that she wasn't broken.

"Don't you think that's a bit _Pretty in Pink_ Alice?"

"Hey, Molly Ringwald had a point there. Not showing up makes it look like you're afraid to watch because you're going to burst into tears at any minute."

"Perhaps. But going would leave everyone expecting me to stand up and make a scene about _why these two should not be joined_ and all that. Everyone would be staring at me the whole time, regardless. I can't do it, Alice. Please don't ask me again."

"Fine, I won't. Until the next time I think about it," Alice laughed.

Now it was Thursday and Bella figured that if she had made it this far without caving to Alice's demands, she could make it the rest of the week and she would be free. Bella had been to the university to get her teaching schedule for that semester (Intro to Brit Lit and the obligatory Freshman Writing Skills class) and had stopped by a Starbucks near her apartment for a bit of a caffiene boost before she sat down to start planning lessons.

She waited in line, paid for her drink and was waiting for her cup when a round of horribly shrill, fake laughter caught her attention. She knew the owner of at least one of those laughs.

Tyler's mother.

This was not going to be pretty.

She stood still, tensed, hoping that they wouldn't see her or at least would have the decency to ignore her.

Clearly, luck was not with her that day either.

"Oh Bella dear," The Bitch drawled, "Come here darling. You have to see the gorgeous pearls I picked up for Jessica today."

Muffy was not thinking logically at the moment, Bella chuckled. Someone had just handed Bella a cup of scalding hot coffee and The Bitch had called her over to gloat. Fool.

"Since you're not coming to the wedding, you won't have the chance to see them. Family heirloom. Used to be Tyler's grandmother's. I was going to leave them in storage, but I decided that Jessica deserves them." Muffy's face looked strangely unexpressive, which did not match the sneering bile in her tone of voice. She had obviously gone a bit overboard with the Botox in preparation for the wedding festivities. Bella picked up on the unspoken part of her nearly-mother-in-law's message: Jessica was worthy, but Bella would not have been. At that very moment, Bella made up her mind.

"Not coming to the wedding? Oh, but Muffy, I know that my date gave Jessica and Tyler our response card in person. I was there. It was when I was selling Jessica my wedding dress. You know, since up until a few weeks ago I didn't know that Jess and Tyler had been screwing around and I was going to be the bride. Anyway... bygones and all that stuff. Edward and I will be there, of course. We wouldn't miss it. Mmmm.. Nice chocolates..." Bella concluded as she grabbed one from the box in front of the group of plastic, snobby hags, popped it in her mouth and walked away calling, "Toodles!"

When she got back home, she threw open the door and slammed it behind her. "Alice!" she yelled.

Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, Edward and Jasper poked their heads out of the kitchen. "You bellowed?"

"Good, Edward is here, too. Edward, get out your best suit and make sure you are ready to look your sexiest on Saturday. Alice and Rosalie put your shoes on. You're taking me shopping. Make me hot, make me sexy, make me girly. There is no way that bitch is going to win."

Alice was not the only one looking happy and smug at that moment.

Edward looked like he had just won the lottery.


	7. Chapter 7: Closer to the Prize

Chapter 7: _Closer to the Prize_

Bella was fairly certain that the sound that came out of Alice's mouth when she announced that she had given in and needed to go shopping was not actually possible in the natural world. It was something in between the sound of a tea kettle whistling and brakes screeching. It seemed clear, though, that Alice was very, very happy that Bella was going to the wedding.

Even though Bella wanted to get the shopping done right then (before she lost her nerve), Alice and Rosalie decided that it was better for them to meet at one of their favorite boutiques over the lunch hour the next day.

Instead of shopping that evening, the six of them were going out for dinner and drinks – lots of drinks. Bella was pulled into her bedroom by a gleeful Alice and Rosalie to smarten up for the evening, "just to see what we'll be working with when we doll you up this weekend," claimed Rosalie.

After finding that Bella was indeed woefully lacking in makeup, lingerie of almost any sort, and that she didn't own a single pair of heels, they left her alone to dress for the evening, offering very little critique along the way. It was clear to both of them that if the goal of the evening was to get Bella to relax, starting with a makeover and a lament about her wardrobe was not going to get her started down the path to happiness. However, it was unspoken between them that the key to her happiness that night was Edward, and he seemed more than willing to accommodate.

They walked down the street a bit to their favorite local restaurant and ordered lots of food and even more wine and started the evening off with "Most Embarrassing Moments" stories. Jasper's involved the wearing of chaps and streaking for a dare; Rosalie's was the result of copious alcohol and a skirt tucked into her underwear; Emmett's included a vengeful ex-girlfriend, public nudity and shaving cream. Alice and Edward's story centered around arriving home with a large group of their friends only to find their parents in a compromising situation on the front porch swing.

By the time Bella's turn came, she was well into her third glass of wine and was more than willing to share one of her stories, starting with how, in front of the boy she had a tremendous crush on, she somehow managed to trip _up_ the stairs on the way to her class and then later, when he seemed to want to sit in the desk next to her she tried to grab her backpack off the top of the desk where she'd left it to save Angela a seat.

"I didn't realize that the strap had slipped under the desk, so when I went to yank the bag up, the whole desk came with it. I sat there tugging at the backpack jiggling the desk up and down for a minute or two before I realized that the strap was stuck. By that time, everyone in the room was staring at me and the boy looked like he really wanted to laugh but was too kind to let himself, so I ended up just putting my head down on my desk to hide." The group was valiantly trying not to laugh too much, but when Emmett snorted some of his wine up his nose, everyone gave in and laughed the most they had all evening.

"Did he at least talk to you after that?" Alice asked.

"He was nice enough to put the desk back upright and take my backpack off of it. But, no, he didn't talk to me, or at least I didn't talk to him. If we were ever near each other, I just went in the other direction. Too embarrassing..." she muttered.

Edward couldn't help but be glad that this unknown guy hadn't chased after Bella. If he'd been nicer than Tyler, Bella could have wound up with that guy rather than here with Edward. He had the feeling that every time he heard a story about how Bella did not get the guy she wanted, he'd be irrationally happy. If he could only get her to want him, he'd be set.

Six pizzas and five bottles of wine later, they were all very full and very relaxed. The rest of the group had to get back so they'd be able to get up for work in the morning, so they settled up and stumbled out in pairs.

"Umm... I think I might be a little bit drunk," giggled Bella as she stumbled for the fourth time. She was glad that she'd stopped drinking when she had. She felt good, but not so good that she was in danger of doing something too embarrassing like pinning Edward against the wall and ripping off his shirt. Edward, though, still seemed in complete control of himself, unfazed by the drinks he'd consumed.

Edward couldn't help but take every chance he could to stare at Bella. She looked lovely that night, with her hair loose and wavy and a very feminine halter top that just skimmed over the waistband of her nicely tight jeans. The wine hadn't made her sloppy drunk, but she did seem to be struggling with walking on the uneven sidewalk. Edward decided to take a risk. "This will make it easier," he said, easily lifting Bella up bridal style to carry her the rest of the short way home.

"Edward!" she squeaked in surprise, but very quickly settled her head against his chest. "I feel like I'm taking advantage of you. I'm certainly not light as a feather."

"Pfft... you weigh next to nothing, Bella. Besides, you can take advantage of me any time, any place."

Bella felt a wave of lust crash over her. Had he really just said that? Was he aware of the seductive tone of voice he'd used? _Oh please let him continue with more of that..._ Bella thought. She sighed deeply and snuggled just a bit closer to him, taking advantage of whatever contact she could have for as long as she could have it. Completely unconsciously, the hand that was wrapped around his neck started to play with the hair at the back of his neck, and the one at his chest fiddled with the buttons of his shirt.

Edward's eyes nearly rolled to the back of his head. When he was able to control himself again, he noticed that Emmett and Rosalie had gone home in their Jeep and it looked like Alice was off again to spend the night at Jasper's. He was going to have to use every ounce of self control to do the right thing and put Bella to bed alone. He really could have used Alice, even if she was as inebriated as Bella. Just knowing someone else was there in the apartment would give him someone to be accountable to.

In the end, though, Bella was able to be fully functional once she was back on a level surface and had taken off her dress shoes. Any grand plans for giving her assistance undressing or putting her to bed were abandoned when she seemed fully able to maneuver around the apartment. She'd been her normal, slightly shy self as she'd thanked him again for helping her and went off to brush her teeth.

Edward had changed into his pajama pants and was brushing his own teeth when a loud thump and an even louder, very naughty curse word came from Bella's room. He cracked the adjoining bathroom door and asked if she needed any help. He could hear her sobbing hysterically from her room, and he rushed in afraid that she had hurt herself.

She was sitting on the floor, with her head tucked between her knees, crying like someone had just run over her puppy. She wasn't hurt, but she was hurting. The sight broke his heart. He gathered her in his arms again, perversely glad for another chance to hold her, settling himself onto her bed and pulling her into his lap, stroking her hair and murmuring calming words until she managed to stop weeping.

"I can't do it, Edward. I can't go to that wedding. I know Alice and Rosalie think I need to go to prove to myself that I'm strong or something, but I'm not. I'm not strong like that. I'll just end up doing something stupid and I'll humiliate myself, I know it."

"Bella, I will not let you humiliate yourself. If you don't want to go, I will make sure that Alice and Rosalie leave you alone. But... I think you would be better off if you did go, just so you have this chance to hold your head up high and give that whole freaky family the finger. You _are_ strong enough, Bella. But only do it if you want to."

The two of them sat there for awhile, just taking comfort at being there with each other. Edward, who had always prided himself on not really needing anyone, felt strangely whole with Bella in his arms. Bella, who had resigned herself to doing everything by and for herself, felt protected in Edward's arms.

"You sure you want to take me? You've got nothing better to do on a Saturday night than to go to this horrible freak show of a wedding?"

"Bella, I'd like nothing better than to help you. Even if you hadn't been our potential roommate, I think that I still would have introduced myself as your date that night. I was appalled at the way Jessica and Tyler spoke to you, and I was blown away by how smoothly you handled them, even while it was clear that it broke your heart."

"Let me help you Bella. Let me take care of you. We don't have to stay for the whole time. Just show our faces, cause a bit of a scandal and leave whenever you're ready. As soon as you say the word, we leave. No matter what."

"Here's the thing, Edward. No matter what, I can't win. If I show up looking heartbroken, I'm pitiful. If I don't look heartbroken, but instead show up with you as my new... what? Crush? If I do that, then I'm some floozy who was in love with Tyler and ready to marry him just last month but am now totally over him and moving on with some gorgeous new boy. Either way, I'll be a laughing stock."

"Ah... you've underestimated Alice," chuckled Edward, while he inwardly rejoiced that Bella had slipped and said he was gorgeous.

Bella's blank look showed her confusion at how Alice fit into the equation.

"Alice has already figured out how we should act. She decided that you should definitely not look heartbroken. Instead you should look... amused. Like you are simply there to watch Jessica and Tyler do something absolutely ridiculous and you are only there because they invited you. As for who I am, we're honest. I'm one of your new roommates. You like my company, you and I have a really great time together, but you don't act like you're smitten with me. I'm just a really nice guy who you are with for the evening and who you get along with really well."

"Huh." Bella paused for a bit. "Alice is quite the strategic planner, isn't she?"

"You have no idea, Bella."

"So... what about you? Why are you there? I mean, most guys aren't all that willing to be dressed up in a suit and tie and hauled off to a wedding, even if they really are the boyfriend. What's Alice's explanation for your willingness?"

"Oh.. she.. well..." Edward stuttered. His eyes seemed to look anywhere but at Bella and his cheeks had flushed.

"That bad, is it?" Bella laughed.

"Yes," he sighed. "She thought that... I need to act as if I completely and utterly adore you. She thought it would be a cute contrast to your natural shyness if I looked like I couldn't get enough of you. That I should look at you like you are the only woman in the room. I'm pretty sure I can pull that off, though Bella. Don't worry."

Bella was quiet for awhile, and Edward desperately wished he knew what she was thinking. "Yeah. I can see where that would be bad. It's asking a lot for you to pretend that."

"No, that's not what I meant when I said it was bad, Bella. Not at all," Edward backpedaled, desperate to make it clear to her that he was more than willing to play the lovestruck fool. "It won't be hard for me to look at you as if I like you. I can't imagine that any woman there would be better to look at than you. I just meant that it's a bit strange for my sister to be planning out how often I need to touch you or how much eye contact I need to make with you or what sort of smile I need to use when we talk. Alice was very, err, explicit with telling me how I need to act. It was like she was directing a movie and had planned exactly how the scene should look."

_Oh no_, Edward realized. _I think I just told her that I like her. That she'd be the prettiest girl in the room. She is either going to think I'm creepy or that I'm trying to get in her pants_.

_Did... did Edward just imply that I was pretty?_ Bella wondered, but quickly pushed the thought away.

"Edward, I... I'm scared. What if I cry? What if someone says something horrible and I have no comeback? What if... what if I end up looking like a fool? I'm already the one that got dumped and replaced ridiculously quickly for the one that was better," she whispered.

"I can't imagine that anyone would actually think that Jessica was the better choice. But no matter what, I swear that I will not let anyone make a fool of you. Bella, I promise that if you let me, I will take care of you," Edward said while looking so deeply into her eyes with such an earnest expression that if she hadn't been sitting down, her knees would have buckled.

She lay her head against his chest for a bit as he continued to stroke her hair gently. "I trust you, Edward. I'll go."

He hugged her to him for a moment before laying her down gently on the bed. "Go to sleep. You've never been shopping with Alice before and you'll need all of your energy, even if it is just over her lunch hour."

When Bella woke the next day, she had the calm assurance that she always felt once she had committed herself to a course of action. She still wasn't looking forward to the wedding, but Edward had asked her to trust him, and she felt sure that she could. Besides, any chance that she had to play 'girlfriend' with Edward she would take gladly. He had been so sweet last night, staying until she had fallen asleep. It had helped her not to take back her choice and call off their plan.

She decided to fix breakfast, since she still had no classes to take or teach and Edward worked from home. She was also trying to avoid thinking about her shopping trip with Alice.

She was halfway through cooking up the eggs and muffins when she realized that despite all of the alcohol she'd consumed, she didn't have a headache. She knew she'd been a bit tipsy and reviewed all that she had said and done the night before. She was pretty sure that she didn't have anything to be too embarrassed about. She had a vague memory of shoving Edward against a wall and ripping his shirt off, but she was fairly sure that she hadn't gone through with it, but had only _wanted_ to do it. She also sort of remembered that Edward had said that she was pretty, but chalked that up to wishful thinking as well.

The one thing she did very much remember was that when he had come in to her room to check on her, he'd been wearing low slung drawstring pajama pants.

Only pants.

She'd seen him on moving day as he'd stripped off his wet tshirt. Shaking her head to clear off that marvelous memory, she fell into the memory of last night and how he'd cradled her against his chest to calm her down. It had been one of the hottest, most physically arousing moments of her life. She had been more turned on by that simple, platonic physical contact than she had ever been by Tyler at his most passionate moments.

She was so, so glad at that moment that she was not marrying Tyler. Even if she didn't stand a chance with Edward, she would not end up stuck with Tyler having to force herself to get turned on as he awkwardly groped her and played titty twister with her. She could feel a huge grin break across her face as she realized that instead of still feeling dumped, she now felt _free_.

"That's a very large smile for so early in the morning," chuckled Edward from beside her. "What has you so happy this morning?"

"I'm just glad I'm not getting married to Tyler tomorrow. So, so very glad."

"So am I," he said as he walked past her, running a hand from the top of her head to the ends of her hair. "He's an idiot. He deserves what he's getting, not what he could have had and was too stupid to keep."

Bella knew she should respond calmly with some polite nothing sort of reply, but there was so much sincerity in Edward's voice that it nearly made her cry. She ended up launching herself at him instead and hugging him.

"Dammit Edward. You're too damn nice. Why is it that you always know what to say?" she laughed as she wiped a tear from her cheek.

"Oh God. I've made you cry. Bella... I..."

"Relax Edward. You've got a sister right? Happy tears and all that girly crap."

He laughed and kissed the top of her head. "And here I thought you were nothing like Alice. If she and Rose were here right now, you'd all be in tears. Ugh," he shuddered playfully.

"Alright. It's 9:30," said Edward in business-like voice. "We have to leave at 11:00 since Alice is going to take an early lunch. She called me and told me to tell you: put on some make up, do your hair, and wear something nice. Her words, not mine. I'm to drive you and then disappear until needed. Whatever that means."

"You won't be there to protect me?" Bella shuddered. "There's no telling what she'll make me buy."

"Sorry. I will protect you against fire, foe and fiend, but no one can protect you from Alice and Rosalie when they start shopping. Even if I united with Emmett and Jasper, it wouldn't work."

Bella laughed, a sudden image of Edward, Emmett and Jasper doing the _Wonder Twins Unite_ thing popping into her head.

"You know the Wonder Twins?" he gasped.

"I do. But I wasn't aware that I had said anything out loud. Oh lord. I'm losing my mind. Perfect. Now I start to lose the power to know when I'm only thinking something or when I'm saying it out loud..." she grumbled.

"You are saying that out loud right now, you do know that, right?"

"Shut it. Have a muffin. Guess I have to go get girlied up," she said as she hopped down from the counter and put her cup in the sink.

"How can I shut it and eat at the same time, Bella?"

At 11:20, Edward dropped Bella off in front of a very classy (snooty, Bella thought) looking boutique and wished her luck before going to hide in a nearby coffee shop. This boutique was the sort of shop she would never have entered on her own. Feeling very out of place, she entered the store ready to walk out if someone suggested that she didn't belong there.

Instead, a very kind and motherly looking woman asked if she was Bella and began to take a few measurements while telling her that 'Ms. Alice and Ms. Rosalie' would be there shortly. Bella had just taken a seat and considered pulling out her iPod when her friends walked in.

Alice walked into the back with the shopkeeper and Rosalie chatted with Bella a bit. After just a few minutes, Alice called them into the back. A rack with a dozen dresses in different styles and colors was waiting.

"You probably don't need to try them all on, since I'm already pretty sure which one will suit you best, but still... go ahead and try them. Oh... they're all strapless or backless so take off your bra and use sticky boobs," directed Alice.

"Sticky what?" gulped Bella.

"Rose," muttered Alice as she headed towards a counter of accessories.

"OK. Lingerie bootcamp. A bra, any kind of bra, just wouldn't work. Instead, you use these: they're sort of glorified pasties. They'll secure you a bit and they'll rein in your nipples. Those dresses are all silky and nothing brings on the highbeams like silk on a bare nipple," Rosalie explained while pulling Bella into a dressing room, stripping her of her bra and affixing the plastic things.

Bella was well aware of the nipple issues she was likely to have if she were to spend the evening with Edward. She had daily problems now, and he was only in jeans and tshirts. If he actually _tried_ to look nice... She shuddered at the thought of her nipples unrestrained and free to do what they wanted next to a dandified Edward.

Bella tried on and showed off ten dresses that were nice, but not spectacular before she tried on dress number eleven. She really liked this dress. Alice had been on the phone and had missed her walking out of the dressing room.

"Hmm..." Alice looked at Bella with an appraising eye. "I really like that one. What do you think, Edward?"

Bella immediately blushed and whipped around, causing the dress to flare out around her. Edward slowly walked towards her, looking at her from head to toe.

"She looks lovely."

He didn't say anything else, but he didn't need to. Bella was finished shopping. This was the dress.

"Bella, try the last one on, just to see. I'm curious," Alice said.

Bella really didn't want to walk away from Edward, but it was only one more dress, then she could leave. She carefully hung up the dress and handed it out to Rosalie before trying on the last one.

The feel of it was totally different that all of the others. It was like wearing water, the way it slipped over her skin and hugged her body. It reminded her of a dress Ginger from Gilligan's Island would wear. It was far too sexy for someone like her to pull off though, and she really didn't want to leave the dressing room and parade herself in front of Edward in it. But she knew that Alice would insist so she pulled up a bit of courage and walked out for viewing.

Rosalie had already looked her way and started to look at another dress, but snapped her head around for a second look. Alice looked quietly smug and looked away from Bella and right at Edward.

Edward had frozen. His eyes raked over her once, twice before locking on Bella's eyes and walking towards her. When he got near her, he walked around her slowly before coming back in front of her.

He circled one arm around her back and ran his fingers slowly down her spine before settling his hand at her hip. He placed his other hand on her bare shoulder and ran his hand down her arm to take her hand. He started to dance with her, twirling her out and away from him before bringing her back in and drawing her tight against his chest. He buried one hand in her hair and placed the other on the small of her back before dipping her backwards and pulling her slowly back up, flush against his chest and hips.

They stood there, still touching and looking only at each other until Alice cleared her throat lightly.

"This one," Edward said, his voice rough and his breathing heavy. He slowly, reluctantly let her go and stepped back, exhaling deeply.

Bella didn't remember getting back into the changing room, or taking off the dress or even getting dressed again. Her mind was overloaded with the feel, the smell, the heat of Edward. How the hell was she going to get through the wedding?

By the time she finished changing, Edward was waiting by himself, a dress bag in his hand.

"Alice and Rose had to go back to work. Alice bought you the dress. You couldn't have stopped her if you wanted to. She said to tell you it was a solidarity move and not to complain. Something about Girl Power," he explained as he walked her out to his car.

"I can't let her do that! It must have cost a fortune. This place doesn't even have price tags, it's so expensive!"

"She said you'd say something like that. She also said to tell you that you can make it up to her. Alice can't cook very well. She's noticed that you can. Just keep her stocked with muffins and stuff and she'll consider herself paid back."

Bella was not happy about this, but didn't know what to do. The key thing, clearly, was not to ever go shopping with Alice again. Ever.

That was something Bella could live with very easily.

The afternoon wore on and Bella was wishing, not for the last time, for homework or a checkbook to balance or something, anything to distract her. She couldn't read, she couldn't watch television, she couldn't even manage to listen to an entire song. She cooked up a complicated dinner and dessert to try to occupy her time and mind, but still was incredibly restless.

She had to force herself to stay in her chair while Alice and Jasper and Edward ate dinner with her. Alice suggested a movie afterwards, but Bella couldn't think of anything she could sit still long enough to watch.

Like a caged animal, she felt the need to pace. After a bit, Edward intercepted a very clear _do something now_ look from Alice.

"Put your shoes on and grab your I.D. We're going out," he told Bella.

"I don't want to go out. I'm not in the mood."

"Of course you're not. That's why you're going. Besides," Edward whispered in her ear, "Alice and Jasper are getting really cozy and don't seem to be actually watching the movie anymore. Are you sure you want to be here for that?"

Bella grimaced and grabbed her wallet.

Ten minutes of speeding and ill advised lane changings later, Edward pulled up in front of a club and dragged a very reluctant Bella out of the car. He kept his hand wrapped around hers until she finally threaded her fingers through his. He grinned at her and pulled her over to the bar. Bella had a chance to look around and was immediately relieved.

This was not a _club_ club, but instead was the sort of place one went to hear actual music performed by actual people. Where you went to listen to music rather than just to find a hook up. A band was tuning up and starting to play a set of music that was just right for what she needed. Upbeat, slightly aggressive, moody, edgy... she was drawn in immediately.

Edward led her to the area in front of the stage, threading their way through the crowd until they were in the middle where the sound was best. On the way through the crowd, it seemed to him that guys brushed up against Bella much more often than was necessary and found himself furious at the way they checked her out through their beer goggles. Bella, as usual, seemed completely unaware of how much male attention she attracted. He found himself wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her against his chest, "to keep the drunks away," he said in her ear, watching as she shivered just a bit when he spoke. She didn't pull away, but instead, lifted her hands to wrap them around his forearms and leaned herself snugly back against him.

It was perfect.

Jasper and Alice were half asleep on the couch when the front door flew open and they heard Bella yelling, "You can't be serious!"

"Trust me, Bella. I mean what I say," Edward said, exasperation clear in his tone of voice.

"Uh oh. Trouble in paradise?" Jasper whispered to Alice.

"But... how can you possibly think that? It's insane, Edward. You are not normal."

"Bella. It's easy to figure out. Elly May Clampett had no idea how sexy she was. Daisy Duke was an easy lay – any guy could have her. Some of us find girls like Elly May, the girls who have no idea how gorgeous and sexy they are, to be infinitely more attractive than someone like Daisy Duke whose charms are just too... obvious."

"Hmph. I still say you aren't normal."

Edward just laughed at her and tickled her side as he moved past her to get a drink from the kitchen.

Alice and Jasper stared at each other for a minute, slack-jawed, before Alice got up to talk to Bella.

"So, how was your evening? Where did you go?"

"Edward took me to see a band. They were brilliant. I think I'm in love."

Edward, who was standing behind Bella, but within Alice's line of sight, nearly dropped his drink. Alice was afraid his face might crack from the shocked grin he was sporting.

"Do you have their CD, Edward? I loved them. Loved. Maybe even adored. They were brilliant."

"Oh." He paused for a minute before answering, "Sure. But you have to go look and try to find out where they are from my system."

"Ugh. It's too late for that tonight. I'm beat. Maybe I'll do it tomorrow." At the thought of tomorrow, Bella suddenly looked nervous again.

"Bella." Edward stepped towards her and touched her cheek lightly. "Please don't worry. I promise. It will be fine."

Bella just stared at him for awhile before nodding, pressing her hand against his which still rested on her cheek, and walking away to her room.

"Will she be okay tomorrow, Edward?" Alice asked.

"I think so. This will let her put it behind her. She has to."

"She will, Edward. Who else in the world would argue with you about the charms of Daisy Duke or Elly May Clampett? You two are perfect for each other. Just give her time," laughed Jasper.

The next morning, Edward woke to the smell of something baking. The smell of lots of things baking. He thought he could smell snickerdoodles, chocolate chip cookies, banana bread and blueberry muffins. He couldn't imagine what Bella could be baking that would smell like all of those combined.

He threw on a shirt and went to find out what the source of the smell was. Apparently, it was all of those. The counter was covered with fresh baked cookies, bread and muffins.

"Morning," Bella mumbled. "Help yourself to anything you want."

"Bella? I didn't mean for you to start paying Alice back with your cooking quite so soon. I hope you didn't think that I meant..," but Bella cut him off with a wave.

"No. I just like to bake when I'm nervous. Makes me feel like I can control something. Oh Edward," she sighed as she sagged against the counter. "I don't know how I'm going to make it through this day."

Edward got out his laptop and pulled up an online music trivia game and started to ask Bella the questions he found to try to distract her. It took two hours of Q&A before she figured out that he was doing it on purpose, to help her forget.

As soon as she realized what he was doing, her attention slipped and she grabbed a hot muffin tin without a mitt. Her hiss of pain sent Edward flying into the kitchen and he grabbed her hand, thrusting it under a stream of cool water from the sink. She began to cry, which made him frantic that she was burned enough to need to go to the hospital. She refused, though, and just stood there in his arms, her hand in the water, sobbing.

After a few minutes, Edward turned off the water and dried her hand to check for damage. He could see that a small bit of her skin was slightly pink, but he couldn't find any serious burns. That meant the tears were clearly not from physical pain. He gathered her up in his arms and sat down on the floor of the kitchen with her. Eventually, Alice woke up and followed her nose to the kitchen. When she saw Edward and Bella on the floor, she looked impressed rather than worried.

"Bella, that's enough," she said sternly. Edward was ready to yell at her for being insensitive when Bella suddenly stopped crying. "You've cried enough over him. No more."

"You're right. I'm sorry, Edward. It's like you're my human tissue these days."

Edward laughed as he looked at her. "That's all it took? Alice says stop and you stop? Amazing."

Alice herded Bella off to the shower, and sat down for a cup of coffee with breakfast.

"So..." Alice started, drawing the vowel out long to make it clear that she expected information. "These days, she said. Has she done this more than once?"

"A few times."

"She seems to really take comfort from you. Just make sure you don't let it slip into BFF mode. Woo her, remember?"

"I'm trying, Alice. I really am."

That afternoon was spent holed up in her bedroom with Alice, Rosalie and an unbelievable amount of beauty products and devices. Bella was tweezed, moussed, diffused, curled, fluffed, exfoliated, trimmed, buffed, polished and made up head to toe. It took hours, and Bella could hardly wait for it it to be over. She didn't think that she'd planned this much beautifying even when she was going to be the bride.

At one point, Rosalie came back into the bedroom laughing. "Bella," she started. "Do you have stomach troubles or something?"

"What?"

"It's just... you have fifty seven rolls of toilet paper under your sink. Yes, I counted. Why?"

Bella snickered. "I bought a bunch, stocking up in case Edward was a typical guy who never had anything on hand. But I guess Edward was a gentleman and stocked up for me. Between us, we have quite the stockpile."

"That's just so Edward," Rosalie sighed. "Emmett would never do anything like that. Don't get me wrong, I love him. I just wish he'd take some lessons from Edward sometimes."

Bella heard the shower start and knew that Edward must be in the bathroom getting ready.

Alice and Rosalie watched Bella watch the bathroom wall as if she were Superman with x-ray vision. They made eye contact with each other and tried their best to hold back laughter. Bella had no idea how transparent she was about Edward. Clearly, he was the only person who hadn't noticed that she was falling.

"Do you think she does this everyday?" Rosalie giggled.

"Absolutely. But I bet he's even worse about it," laughed Alice.

"Bella?" Rosalie said. "Can I ask you something personal?"

Hoping that they hadn't noticed her ogling the bathroom wall and fantasizing about Edward, Bella answered, "Umm, sure."

"I've noticed that, how can I put this without offending you? You are upset about the broken off wedding, but... it's as if... you are more embarrassed than you are heartbroken. I mean, if Emmett did anything like that to me, I'd be... well... devastated. After I cut his dick off, that is. Emmett is the love of my life, honestly, and once I got over being angry, I'm not sure I could function without him. You seem to be... fully functional. Sad, sure, but far from devastated."

Bella thought about how to answer that, since it was something she'd put a lot of thought into during the last month.

"You're absolutely right. I'm not devastated. When I found them... christening the kitchen counter, I ran out and cried for hours. But once I started to think about it, I just got more and more angry at the way they'd played me. Used me. I really liked Tyler, and I came to think that I loved him. Honestly, I don't know even now if I really did. My heart _should_ have broken if I did, right? But it didn't."

"How did you end up engaged if you weren't sure you really loved him?" asked Alice.

Bella explained how she had started dating him in college, during sophomore year. They had all three known each other in high school, and had all ended up in college together. Since they all came from the same town, they carpooled back into Forks during breaks. It had been nice to have people she knew and trusted around her in the wilds of the gigantic Seattle campus.

She had no idea how long Jessica and Tyler had been screwing around behind her back, but wouldn't be surprised if it was for a long time. Every time she had thought Tyler was acting strangely, she'd talked to Jessica about it. Miraculously, shortly after that Tyler would double up his efforts in the romance department. If she had ever thought that Jessica seemed peeved with her, she would probably have said something to Tyler, who could have warned Jessica to tighten up the charade.

Bella had been brought up to wait for marriage before giving it up (the old cow and milk thing that Renee had drilled into her head), and she had told Tyler about it early on, expecting it to chase him off. She'd been beyond impressed at how calmly he'd taken it. He'd never tried to push her boundaries that far. This had probably been one of the things that had kept her attached to him. How many guys could be that much of a gentleman? Now, of course, she knew that his needs were certainly being met on the side, so he must have been content with whatever Bella was willing to do as a bonus to whatever Jessica was giving him.

She still couldn't figure out why he had stayed with her. Her parents were respected in Forks, but it wasn't like he'd gain anything by marrying her. His parents had never really liked Bella. She couldn't figure out why they preferred Jessica, since her family was no better off, but Muffy had turned over the family pearls, so she must be preferable. Bella figured that the two of them must have gotten off on the deception, on being so clever and smooth that they were able to pull off this huge joke. They must have had quite a lot of laughs behind her back. It probably did wonders for their sex life. She wondered vaguely what they were doing for kicks now.

Tyler had proposed to her over the previous summer, and she had accepted. It seemed like the natural progression of things: you date, you get serious, and you get married. But Bella had to admit that she hadn't been very enthusiastic about it. She had chalked it up to nerves and worries about growing up. Now she knew that it was probably a combination of her intuition telling her something was wrong and her heart telling her that she wasn't really in love.

Alice and Rosalie listened and seemed to understand her story. Apparently, Rosalie had an old boyfriend back home that everyone had expected her to marry. She'd come close, but had backed out of the engagement almost as soon as she had agreed. She met Emmett after that and, as she said, "I knew he was the one. All he had to do was look at me and my toes curled."

Bella nodded her head, understanding completely. She'd never say it aloud to Alice and Rosalie, but the passion she'd felt in Edward's presence was far beyond anything she'd felt with Tyler while they were making out furiously and pushing the boundaries of what Bella was willing to do. If she felt that way without even being kissed or with only slightly being touched, she couldn't imagine what she would react like if Edward had actually tried to seduce her.

She was quite sure that she'd be giving up the milk for free in two seconds flat.

"You're doing the right thing by going to this wedding, you know. Edward will make damn sure that no one gets to laugh at you. By showing that you're not in tears at 'your guy' marrying 'that girl' you show that you are totally over it. Everyone will watch you and wait for you to crack. But now that you know you weren't in love with him, you know you have no reason at all to be sad. If anything, you should be relieved that it's not you up there! Just eat a lot, dance a lot, drink a lot and let Edward take care of you. You'll be fine," encouraged Rosalie as she took the last curler out of Bella's hair and fluffed her curls loose.

Once they'd finished with her hair and makeup and Rosalie had attacked her with the sticky boobs, they left her to get dressed while they checked on Edward.

"Don't come out until we come get you," Rosalie yelled. That was fine with Bella, she thought as she zipped up the dress. She still felt like this dress was out of her league, but if it made Edward happy, then she was happy in it. After a minute or two, Rosalie came back in, looked Bella over and led her out into the living room.

Edward had his back to her since he was starting to put on his shoes. Jasper smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up. Emmett, even though he had a mouth full of her cookies, yelled, "looking hot!"

When he realized that she was out of her room, Edward jerked around to look at her. As soon as his gaze hit her, he dropped his shoes with a thud and walked over to her much like he had in the dress shop.

"Bella." He seemed to be out of breath suddenly. Alice and Rosalie both started whispering furiously in the ears of their men, never looking away from what had now become The Edward and Bella Show.

Bella blushed brilliantly mistaking his silence for displeasure and looking at her toes rather than at Edward. She couldn't believe she'd been foolish enough to think she could carry this off. She had, though, noticed that he looked amazing. He'd shaved, slightly tamed his hair and was dressed in a perfectly cut suit.

He slipped a finger under her chin and pulled her face up so she would meet his eyes. "You're stunning," he said simply. He took her hand and led her to the door where he finished putting his shoes on. Without saying anything to the others, he looked into her eyes and said, "Are you ready?"

She took a deep breath, lifted her chin and nodded. He took her hand, threaded his fingers into hers and shut the door behind them.

An hour later, they pulled into the church parking lot. Edward turned off the car and shifted towards Bella. He noticed that her leg was bouncing furiously and she was worrying her lower lip. He placed a hand on her knee to still her.

"Do you need a moment?"

"Honestly? If I don't get out this minute, I'll run away or puke or something. Edward... please, please don't let me look foolish. Tell me if I am smiling too much or not enough or if I try to smile but just look nauseous. Just be honest. This isn't about making me feel good. This is about me doing this right for appearance's sake and getting it over with."

"I promise."

When they got to the door of the church, Bella nearly threw up on the shoes of the obnoxious ushers who were beside themselves laughing as they asked her, "Bride or groom?"

"Better be bride," she replied. "She might not have had enough time to invite a lot of people, this being a last minute thing and all."

The usher seated them right towards the front, and there were enough people already there that the whispering gossip around them as people noticed her walk in was far too loud for the setting. Bella kept her composure and sat rather closer to Edward than she had planned.

Edward occupied himself with looking at every detail around him from the church itself to the decorations inside. He was curious to see if he could figure out what Bella had originally chosen and what Jessica had added on. He could see simple and elegant things that looked like someone had gone over them and doubled them up, making them just a bit too busy to be nice. Candle stands that had probably started with a few flowers and a simple ribbon now had superfluous bows and sparkly stuff tacked on. The flower arrangements had too many colors. Everything had clearly been Jessica-ed.

Music started and the relatives were brought in. He thought that Tyler's mother looked rather shocked as she saw Bella, but Edward couldn't be sure. Her face seemed like it was incapable of displaying the emotions that it should.

Tyler and his groomsmen, clearly suffering from horrible hangovers from bachelor party debauchery the night before, were lined up in front of the church. Tyler looked like he should have been a nice guy, and like someone who could play the good guy. But Edward could see the cocky overconfidence in his stance. He was the kind of boy who had been spoilt by his mom, ignored by his dad, except when he needed to get out of trouble, and who had always gotten what he wanted. Again, Edward was glad that he had screwed things up with Bella. It was horrifying to think of Bella being the one about to marry that toad.

The music swelled as the bridesmaids completed their march down the aisle. Edward remembered how Bella said she had let Jessica pick those dresses as Bella mumbled, "I hated those dresses. They look like twenty dollar hookers."

Everyone stood and shifted to the back of the church as Jessica started down the aisle, nearly dragging her father along in her excitement. She managed to make eye contact with many people as she went past and seemed to be trying to nod graciously. Instead, she looked like one of the bobblehead dolls Edward remembered his grandmother having in her car. When she got near Bella and Edward, though, she resolutely looked away.

Edward stared at Jessica, not quite seeing her. Instead he could very clearly picture Bella in that dress, walking down the aisle under very different circumstances. It wasn't, however, the dress he had pictured her in. She would still have looked amazing, though.

The ceremony dragged by, a confusing combination of traditional vows and made up speeches copied from the internet and cheesy song lyrics. Neither Bella nor Edward heard much of anything up until the point where the minister asked for anyone who objected to speak or forever hold their peace. At that point, though, nearly every single person in the church turned to look at Bella. Edward was glad that he had started paying attention just before that, because he chose that very moment to make a wise crack about the bridesmaids dresses in Bella's ear. She giggled and looked down just before everyone looked at her. By the time she recovered and looked up, everyone had turned forward and Edward could start breathing again.

Finally, the couple was invited to kiss, which they did with far too much enthusiasm for a public setting, and they ran out of the church. It was the longest wedding in history, as far as Bella and Edward were concerned. He finally managed to get them out of the church and into his car where he let out a huge sigh. He was exhausted. Bella, who had kept his hand the whole time they were in the church, took his hand once again, and kissed it lightly.

"You're amazing, you know? I noticed what you did with the distraction. Thank you."

"You're welcome. You did great, Bella. You played it perfectly."

Just then, there was a tapping at the window. Muffy was standing there wiggling her fingers.

"We're so looking forward to having you at the reception. You weren't planning on running off, were you?"

"Of course not. I can't wait to get Bella to dance with me," Edward replied. Muffy's Botox half smile faltered a bit.

"Lovely, lovely."

"See you there!" chirped Bella as Muffy teetered away on her too high heels.

"Well crap. Now we have to go, don't we?" Bella groaned.

The reception was so ridiculously horrible that they found themselves desperately wishing they could get out unnoticed but were unable to find a way to do so.

They were placed front and center and could not have snuck away if they'd tried. Muffy ran a parade of people past their table and introduced Bella, always being sure to call her "my son's _ex_" and introducing Edward as Bella's 'escort.' Bella couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong with the way Muffy was saying it. She chalked it up to the extreme awkwardness of the situation.

Until, that is, one time when there was slightly too much emphasis placed on the word _escort_ and the couple seemed to recognize Edward.

"Edward, lovely to see you again," nodded the woman named Mitzi or Bambi or something like that. "How are Carlisle and Esme?"

"They're very well, thank you. I hope we will see you at the Christmas Charity Gala again this year," Edward said politely.

"Of course," replied Cookie or Mimi or whatever as she placed a hand on Muffy's arm and walked away. Bella could just hear her saying, "You must be mistaken. Edward Cullen is _absolutely not_ a paid escort," in a firm voice.

Muffy looked very disappointed, whether because she enjoyed the rumor as a way of embarrassing Bella or because she hoped to hire Edward in the future, Bella couldn't be sure.

The reception went on forever. The food was bad and nothing like what Bella had ordered, though the alcohol was flowing freely which was probably supposed to make up for the poor quality of the dinner. The DJ made one crude and suggestive remark after another, but Tyler and Jessica seemed to soak it all up, making out enthusiastically every time someone tapped a glass.

They went through the traditional dances, and eventually the floor opened for all of the guests. Edward managed to convince Bella to join him for a dance. She wasn't the most confident of dancers but any excuse to be close to him again was welcome. They continued to dance in a quiet, more or less private corner of the room out of sight of most of the guests up until the time when everyone was called to watch Tyler take off Jessica's garter.

Jessica simpered and sat down in the chair in the center of the room. Tyler leered at her and grabbed handfuls of her dress, hiking it up nearly to her hips. He licked his lips and bit down on the garter that was up rather high round Jessica's thigh and drug it downwards with his teeth. He also seemed to think it was quite alright to put his hands the rest of the way up her dress.

Bella watched the trainwreck happening right in front of her and wondered at her own stupidity. How, _how_ had she been friends with her and in love with him? Maybe... maybe it hadn't been love. She was appalled at the thought that Tyler might have done that to her at their wedding. But she had to pause when she realized that if Edward did it, she'd probably enjoy it.

The girls were all called up to the front in the inevitable and embarrassing _all S-I-N-G-L-E ladies_ way that made single girls feel somehow inferior for their unmarried status and made their boyfriends immediately feel claustrophobic about the girls' expectations for commitment.

Bella had planned to be gone by this point, but she'd gotten so caught up in dancing with Edward, with the feel of his large hands on either her bare skin or moving the smooth silk of her dress against her body, with the scent of his skin, with the rumble of his voice when he spoke to her, or with the kindness and hint of fire she saw in his eyes when they looked at each other that she dreadfully miscalculated. But surely, _surely_ Jessica would not want any attention on Bella at this point, would she? Everyone knew what Tyler and Jessica had done. There was no way that anyone at this farce of a wedding would call Bella up into that group of single women.

Would they?

Again, Bella had severely miscalculated.

"Belllaaahhhh!" Jessica yodeled. "You're SINGLE! Again! Come up here! Put some effort into it, girl. You're going to need the luck if you ever want to get married!"

Bella wondered if, in the history of weddings, anyone had ever dared to smack the bride and call her a bitch at the wedding reception. She was sorely tempted to do so.

"I'll run you out the door this minute. Let's go," Edward whispered in her ear.

"Oh hell no. I'm in," growled Bella.

Edward watched Bella walk away from him and into the crowd of women waiting to catch the bouquet. He'd never admired her more than at that moment. She was always physically beautiful, but tonight, in that dress and with that attitude she was sexy as hell. The courage she was showing in standing up with all of these people and not looking beaten was incredible and made him want to sweep her off of her feet and worship every inch of her body while telling her how amazing she was, inside and out.

_Oh no_, he though, _I did not just think about inside. Shit. Inside of Bella. Shit. Stop._

All evening it had taken every bit of concentration he had to dance with her in a way that was only mildly romantic and not to haul her off to a dark corner of the building or the backseat of his car and ravish her. He was concentrating so hard on being a gentleman that the events of the reception had happened faster than he had noticed. He had planned on having her out of here way before this. Alice was going to kill him for not doing a better job.

With a fanfare of horrible faux-suspense music from the DJ, Jessica centered herself in front of the the group of women, looked back and eyeballed Bella before turning back and throwing the bouquet away from Bella's direction.

Or at least, she seemed to want to do so.

Instead, it sailed right towards Bella like some sort of guided missile. Edward had heard of girls mauling each other to get the bouquet, but no one seemed to want to get in Bella's way. The girls moved away from her and left a buffer of space around her. Bella didn't raise her arms to catch the flowers, so instead, they bounced off of her forehead and landed on the ground in front of her.

She still didn't move, so one of the other girls reached down, picked them up and pressed them into Bella's hands. The DJ announced that the 'lucky girl' was to sit in the chair Jessica had just gotten up from. Bella grimaced and looked at Edward for help.

Edward knew that his only option was to get the garter, no matter what. When the guys were called up, Edward took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. Bella watched him with wide eyes. He walked towards her, put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her cheek before grinning cockily.

The group of guys had been having a rather lewd conversation about how they'd go about putting the garter on Bella if they had the chance, but broke off as soon as they saw Edward's face. Something about the look in his eyes made each of them cringe and leave him some space.

Tyler seemed to have the same idea that Jessica had, and he took aim well away from Edward. It might have worked if Tyler had been any more coordinated or if the guys gathered for the garter toss had been any less scared of Edward. As it was, Tyler had rotten aim and sent it right at Edward, who caught it easily.

Edward turned to Bella and grinned at her as if they were the only two people in the room and he was going to have his way with her right there, right then. It took her breath away.

He didn't listen to the DJ, he didn't worry about the photographer, instead he walked over to her as if he were stalking his prey. He put one hand on her neck and swept her hair back before leaning in and whispering, "Please, whatever I do, just go with it and trust me. Please." He leaned up and looked in her eyes, one eyebrow raised. She bit her lip and nodded apprehensively.

Edward grinned again and knelt in front of her, putting one of her legs against him. He slipped the garter over her shoe and around her ankle, caressing the skin there lightly as he looked at her. Then his eyes slipped down and focused on her leg.

He was well aware that he was enjoying this much, much more than he should.

This should be all business.

This should simply be about stirring up the crowd and ending any and all pity anyone felt for Bella.

This should show them that she was desirable, that she was wanted.

It should be about 'one in the eye' for Tyler and Jessica and Muffy.

But Edward didn't give a damn about anyone at the moment except for Bella. Bella and her lovely, smooth, luscious leg. The leg he had probably been staring at and caressing for an inappropriately long amount of time.

He hooked the garter around his hands and starting sliding it up her calf, letting his hands trail just under the silk of her dress. He wasn't sure how far he dared take this and was ready to stop, since once look at Bella showed that her cheeks had achieved a new shade of red.

Just as he was ready to stop, though, he heard Tyler snort from the sidelines. "What a pussy. He didn't even use his teeth."

Bella heard it.

Edward could see her jaw clench just a bit and she looked fiercely into his eyes seeming to try to tell him something.

Oh.

_Oh hell yes!_ Edward wanted to shout.

If he was going to do this, he was going to do it right. He was going to savor every single damn minute.

He rested his head on her ankle and lightly pressed his lips to her skin. Then he slowly, torturously dragged his lips up and over the skin on her lower leg until he came to where the garter rested just above her knee. He slid her dress up above the garter, making sure that no one but him got a glimpse of anything. He kissed her knee and bit down on the garter, then he closed his eyes and slipped the fabric of her dress over his head, sliding his hands up her thighs as far as she would let him.

He could feel when he'd gone far enough by the way her whole body stiffened. He gave her legs what he hoped she'd take to be a reassuring and encouraging squeeze and continued to pull the garter up her thigh with his teeth until he met the stopping point he'd marked with his hands.

He'd never admit it to anyone, but even though he had kept his eyes closed tightly so he could swear to Bella later that he didn't see anything, he had inhaled the sweet scent of her.

It confirmed what he thought: Bella was amazing inside and out, both figuratively and literally.

He let go of the garter, and smoothed his lips back over the skin of her leg all the way back down to her ankle, letting his hands follow.

When he was done, he sat back on his heels almost afraid to look at Bella. He'd enjoyed it immensely, but he wasn't sure if she had.

One look at her face, though, showed that as embarrassed as she was, she had most definitely enjoyed it. Her face was flushed and her chest was heaving as she panted almost like a woman who'd just had an orgasm.

She was glorious.

But the crowd...

The crowd was very, very quiet.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" Jessica yelled. "You hire an escort to come to my wedding and you pull that kind of shit? Who the fuck do you think you are?"

Bella and Edward looked at her blankly.

"Escort?" Bella repeated. "He's my roommate."

"Whatever. So pitiful," Jessica whined.

"Wait. Are you implying that Bella had to pay me to come with her? I thought that Muffy's misunderstanding had been cleared up. That ridiculous rumor isn't still being spread, is it?" Edward said quietly yet aggressively.

Jessica turned pale. "Well. I mean, come on... she must have paid for you. There is no way that _Bella Swan_ could get a guy like you, friend or boyfriend or roommate or whatever you are."

"Bella is an amazing woman and she could have anyone she wanted – including me," Edward replied.

"Except Tyler," Jessica said smugly, wrapping herself around Tyler. Tyler obliged her by palming her breast and licking her neck.

"I'm so glad for that, Jessica. He would have been the biggest mistake of my life. Of course, he already asked me to be his fuck on the side once you were married, so I have no idea how long he'll be yours. But Tyler just doesn't do it for me. This has been a long, dull evening. Edward and I are going home. Thanks for the cake and flowers!" Bella said as she waved the bouquet at the couple.

Edward pulled Bella against him as they walked out and wrapped an arm around her waist.

They didn't say anything as they walked to the car. He helped her in and went around to start the car. They'd been driving for a few minutes when Bella asked him to pull into a fast food restaurant on the side of the road. She hopped out, flowers in hand, and pitched them in a garbage bin before getting back in.

"Sorry. They stunk, and I don't litter. Police officer's daughter."

"Bella, are you okay? I just... I wanted to tell you that I had my eyes closed the whole time. I'm so sorry if I took it too far. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I just..."

Bella cut him off with a hand on his arm.

She smiled at him shyly. "Edward, please don't apologize. What you did for me tonight, for the whole weekend... it was amazing. Other than my dad, I've never had anyone stand up for me and take care of me like that. Anyway, it... it wasn't bad. You didn't upset me. At all."

Even in the dark of the car, Edward was sure that Bella was blushing. He reached over and took her hand and squeezed it.

"So, you'll give Alice a good report?"

They both laughed at the idea of having to recount the whole evening to Alice to see if their behavior met with approval. Edward turned on some music and they started the ride home.

Bella leaned back to think over this very odd day.

This was the day that Bella had planned on getting married and going off for her honeymoon. She had really been looking forward to finally losing her virginity on this night. She had always had a feeling that the orgasms that her lover could give her would outdo anything that she could manufacture for herself.

When her engagement had fallen apart, she'd given up her hopes for physical ecstasy on this particular day.

What she hadn't counted on was Edward Cullen.

She might feel a little shy about what he had done and how it had been done in front of everyone.

But he damn sure didn't need to apologize for the results: Bella's should-have-been-wedding-night had ended with an orgasm anyway.


	8. Chapter 8: So I Can Breathe You In

True to form, Alice managed to pry about 96 of the details of the wedding out of Edward and Bella over the next few days. A few minor details, specifically Edward's dive under Bella's dress, were glossed over. Alice was intuitive enough to know that she wasn't getting the full story, but she was clever enough to let it be.

For now.

Eventually she would know what it was that made Bella bite her lip and blush and made Edward look at Bella with barely concealed longing. It might take time and lots of wine, but it couldn't stay buried forever.

Bella settled into her normal routine of study and work. With only a year left in her grad studies,she was spending hours studying, writing and grading papers for her TA duties.

She had access to a desk and computer in a crowded office, but preferred to work at home or in the library as much as possible. The office was full of gossiping, preening grad students all trying to play the game of one up, speculating on who the favored TA of the week was. Some classes and professors were better to work with than others. Bella had been lucky: she was TA for freshman level classes (which was the negative part), but worked with a professor she truly admired and who gave her many chances to stretch herself and plan her classes out.

Her first week of classes was fairly uneventful. Freshmen were predictable: they came to class rarely, late, hung over, sleepy and barely paid attention. Somehow, she was supposed to get them up to speed for university writing and literature. It was an uphill climb, especially with some of the students.

Most of the students passed through her class doing what they needed to do to scrape a passing grade good enough to not have to repeat. If they couldn't manage that, they would usually stop showing up sometime after midterm and repeat the class the next year, probably with a different teacher.

Some of her students, though, seemed to thrive on making life difficult for their professors. Like the day when a group of seven or eight boys showed up wearing t-shirts with a stick figure of a pole dancing woman and the phrase '**I support single moms**.' Or the student who asked, _theoretically_, what sort of grade she would get if she didn't turn in any of the essays assigned in the syllabus. Or the other who informed Bella (in a voice that made it sound like the most logical thing in the world) that all of his information would be coming from the movie versions of the books assigned and asked Bella to take that into consideration when she chose the books.

By Friday afternoon, Bella was glad to head home right after her class and bypass both the office and the library. She needed to decompress. She was surprised to see that Edward didn't seem to be at home, since he was usually there when she left and when she came home. This thought reminded her that she still didn't know what he did for a living (Hacker? Phone sex performer? Unemployed trust fund baby?). Putting all thoughts out of her mind, she closed both bathroom doors and filled the tub with bubbles. Nothing was more relaxing than a hot bath, some good music and a glass of wine.

Just before she got in the tub, she remembered to unlock the door to Edward's room. Earlier in the week, she had locked him out and he had been nervous that she was still sleeping and hadn't wanted to disturb her. As a result, he'd waited hours for his turn in the bathroom before finally going in through Bella's room. She was so exhausted this afternoon that she knew if she didn't unlock the door now, she'd probably forget again. She put in her earbuds and buried herself in the fragrant bubbles.

Edward came home from his workout with time to spare. He liked to be there when Bella got back from teaching and classes. She usually had a funny story to tell or would talk about something that had piqued her interest while preparing for class. Since he worked from home, he was free to arrange his schedule, so he'd chosen to arrange it around Bella's hours. She shouldn't be home for another 30 minutes or so, which gave him plenty of time to grab a shower.

He walked into his room, shut the door and turned on some music while taking off his shirt. He failed to notice that the light was already on in the bathroom.

Edward's eyes weren't exactly virginal, but what he saw when he opened the door made him react like a teenaged boy. The rational part of his mind processed what he saw very quickly and told him to back out very, very slowly so she wouldn't see him. But the rational part of his mind seemed to be disconnected from the rest of him and instead he stood there taking it all in.

Bella was in the tub, eyes closed, half smile on her face, long hair floating around her like a mermaid, her iPod clearly on loud enough that she didn't hear him come in. There were still bubbles in the tub, but they were dissolving and he could make out the line of her shape under the water without even having to try. One perfect knee poked out of the water, glistening wet. Her hands rested on the side of the tub, tapping out the rhythm of whatever she was listening to.

Edward was overwhelmed by lust. All he could do was stand and stare. He knew he had to leave _now_, but irrationally found himself taking two steps closer to her.

All he wanted to do was slip into the tub behind her and feast on her warm, wet flesh.

So he did the only thing he could do: he backed out of the room stealthily and then slowly, softly closed the door. He flung himself on the bed and tried to win the battle against a raging erection. The only thing that could help him was the cold shower that was out of the question at the moment.

It was well worth it, though. He never would have done it on purpose, thanks to his deeply ingrained gentlemanly side. But it hadn't been on purpose. It had simply been a matter of bad (or very, very good) timing and luck. He didn't need to feel guilty, he reassured himself. His mind's eye traced and retraced the figure of her body that he had seen in the bubbles until the sound of Bella banging around in the kitchen brought him back to reality.

After a few minutes of self care and a warm shower, Edward walked out into the kitchen with his laptop to see what Bella was doing.

This was their late afternoon routine: one of them would put on some music, Bella would start cooking something and Edward would sit at the bar with whatever he was reading or working on. He never got much done, but it made him feel like less of a stalker by having some reason for being there other than just watching her. Sometimes he would join her in cooking, doing whatever chopping or stirring she assigned him. Edward kept the kitchen well stocked both so Bella could fix whatever she thought of at the time, and also so that she wouldn't spend much of her own money on food that the rest of them – often all six of them – would eat. She'd only lived there for three weeks, but Friday now seemed to be reserved for the group to get together, eat whatever Bella cooked, and watch movies or play games.

"Hey Edward," Bella said, looking at him with tears in her eyes as he went to the fridge for a drink.

"Oh Bella," he said, wrapping his arms around her, "what happened? Bad day?"

"What? Oh, no. Nothing. Just onions," she laughed as she turned to look at him, leaning into his embrace just a bit before stepping back.

Edward looked appraisingly at her, to be sure that was all that was making her cry. He chuckled and wiped some of the tears from her cheeks. "Here. Let me finish those."

She nodded and started chopping tomatoes and chili peppers.

"What's on the menu tonight?" Edward sniffed, trying to hold back his own tears.

"Tacos. I'm making salsa right now. Does everyone like spicy food?"

Edward laughed. "Jasper and I love it. Emmett pretends to like it, since he probably thinks it doesn't look manly if he admits something is too spicy for him. Alice and Rosalie, though, don't eat spicy food."

They settled into their usual kitchen routine, moving easily around each other, not needing to speak much about what they were doing, but finding dozens of other things to talk about. They finished setting up most of the food just as the others came in.

Alice and Rosalie disappeared into Alice's room after admonishing Emmett to stay away from the food. Jasper wandered over to the kitchen and joined Edward who was eating picked jalapeno peppers from the jar. Every so often, Edward would feed one to Bella so she could keep her hands clean as she finished preparing the food (this was his professed reason – but really it was just a chance to get close to her lips). The sound of a yelped, _Holy Shit!_ startled all of them.

"Water!" panted Emmett, running into the kitchen, his tongue hanging out like a thirsty dog.

Bella laughed and shoved the bag of tortilla chips towards him. "These will work better. So… you didn't listen to Rosalie, did you? You got into the food."

Emmett laughed and hung his head.

"If you'd asked, we'd have told you which salsa was for the three of you and which was for us and Jasper," said Edward.

"What do you mean? Why can't I eat your salsa?" complained Emmett.

"You just did, but clearly, you need to eat from the other bowl. It's not as spicy," said Bella. "It's my mom's recipe for what she calls _Baby Salsa_."

"Why does she call it that? Baby tomatoes or something?"

"Nope. Because it's mild enough for a baby to eat. Another pepper, please Edward," Bella said.

Jasper and Emmett watched Edward and Bella do what they had probably both convinced themselves was perfectly normal, platonic behavior. But it was all wrong. The eye contact was too intense as he walked, or rather stalked, towards her just a bit too slowly; she licked her lips a little too seductively as she parted them; he put the pepper to her mouth too carefully, his fingers lingering on her lips as he wiped away imaginary juice. Bella dropped her gaze as she chewed and then, blushing lightly, looked back up slowly and met Edward's smirk with a smile of her own.

_Foreplay_, both Jasper and Emmett thought.

They all sat down to eat together, passing the food around and telling silly stories from their week at work or sharing their most recent bizarre email. It would have been clear to any outsider that there were three distinct and very happy couples at that table. All three boys ate a tremendous amount of food. Alice and Rosalie ate light, as always, making a salad instead of getting messy with the tacos. Edward kept an eye on Bella, enjoying what he saw. She ate like a normal person: tacos with two hands and a mess, and she was happy. From time to time, he would catch the scent of her bubble bath on her skin and he would have to shift in his seat to accommodate his excitement. That memory was going to be with him for a long time.

After dinner, Bella and Edward were sent to relax while the other four cleaned up. It was Edward's turn to pick a movie and he was determined to pick something that would be safe. Scary movies were a good option, since Bella might end up clinging to him for comfort. But what if she got so scared that she left or got angry at him for picking it?

Romance movies were out. First, because Emmett would never let him live it down and second, because it didn't feel like the right time with Bella. It's not like she was going to get all mushy and romantic with him and want to make out. _Too bad_, he thought, _I would love to taste those lips_. Though, with the memory of her bath so fresh in her mind, he'd probably overstep his boundaries and try to ravish her the moment he touched her.

Comedy was the only safe option. He knew that everyone liked _The Princess Bride_, but it didn't seem to suit the moment. He grabbed the familiar black box and popped in the disc. This would have to do, though it wasn't one of Emmett's favorites.

They had a movie watching layout that they seemed to fit into each time: Alice and Jasper snuggled up on the small sofa, Emmett and Rosalie on the larger sofa (usually not paying attention to the movie halfway in), and Edward and Bella on the floor. Both Edward and Bella started out sitting up, but usually wound up lying down, Bella in front, Edward in back. They kept a good amount of personal space between them, each with their own blanket. Edward could hardly wait for the day when he could destroy that bubble of space between them and let his hands roam under her blanket the way he so desperately wanted to.

Usually, Edward would lie down after Bella, making sure to leave a respectful amount of space. This time, though, he figured he would lie down first, letting her choose how close she would get.

Everyone gathered as the movie started and either groaned or cheered as the opening credits of _Spinal Tap_ started up. Edward knew that he had chosen correctly when Bella started to recite the words along with the movie.

Bella, meanwhile, was desperately trying to focus on the movie. Always, _always_, when they watched a movie, they started out sitting up. The lights were off and their attention distracted by the time that Bella would decide to stretch out, Edward usually following shortly after. This time, though, she had come out of her room with the blankets and Edward was already stretched out on the floor, one elbow propped on a stack of pillows. Seeing him there, looking for all the world like a lover waiting for her to join him in bed, nearly undid her. Just then, though, Emmett turned out the lights and the room had gotten very dark. Bella had taken a chance and decided to lay down much closer to Edward than normal. She was so close she could smell him, could feel the movement of the air as he exhaled deeply. She forced herself to focus intently on the movie, rather than on the heat she could imagine coming off of Edward's too close body.

Only minutes into the movie, Edward stopped concentrating on anything but Bella. He could hear Emmett and Rosalie making out furiously behind them. It made him wonder about himself and Bella. How soon was too soon for her? How long was too long? He wanted to time it just right when he made his move, for both their sakes. He didn't want to be too pushy and scare her away before she was ready and he could not risk rejection. Not from her.

It wasn't just because he'd gotten an eyeful that afternoon. Living with her without having her was the most delicious torture possible. He'd never run across her fully naked, but he'd spent plenty of time surreptitiously ogling her in the mornings as she made coffee and breakfast. She slept in one of those lovely, fitted tanks and never put on a bra in the mornings. He'd developed a habit of asking her for his favorite mug, which he was always sure to put on the top shelf so she'd have to stretch up, making her shirt slide up and her muscles go taut. It was a beautiful sight.

He'd come out of his room sometimes in the afternoon to find her sitting at the bar, grading papers. Her hair would be up in a messy bun, exposing her smooth neck. He was overwhelmed with the desire to run his lips softly over the skin there, sucking and biting lightly. She wore cute little 'naughty librarian' glasses and chewed the cap of her pen while concentrating, which caused him to develop a whole new set of fantasies. Nothing was hotter than an oral fixation.

So there he sat, mere inches away from the sweetest, sexiest, most captivating girl he'd ever met, helpless to do anything to make her his. Or at least, anything overt. He had begun a campaign of little gestures to claim her heart. Every day he found at least one excuse to embrace her, to put his hand on her back or his arm around her shoulder. She never pulled away and he thought that she seemed to lean into his touch. He made excuses about places to go so he could drive her to campus or pick her up, even though they were close enough for her to walk or take a bus. He took her grocery shopping and carried the bags. He put band-aids on her burns or grabbed the emergency frozen peas when she bruised herself.

His biggest fear, though, was that it would all feel like friendly or brotherly acts to her, which wouldn't work. That was the last way he wanted her to think of him.

His hands were currently struggling to break free of his conscience and run themselves through her hair, or rub down her arms, or slide under her shirt, or tease the waistband of her pajama pants. This, of course, he could not allow to happen. His massive excitement issue was back again as well. He became utterly consumed with his desire to pull her close and breathe her in.

The click of the front door took him by surprise and he looked around to see that he and Bella were the only ones there. He lifted himself up on his elbow to see Bella's face to determine whether she wanted to continue the movie or not.

She was asleep.

She looked so damn pretty asleep.

She'd look even better asleep, tangled up in his sheets.

As he watched, mesmerized, she rolled over to face him, inhaled deeply and smiled. Then she sighed and said, "Another pepper please, Edward."

He couldn't help but laugh. He had thought he'd heard talking from Bella's room a few nights ago, but thought maybe she'd made a late night phone call. Sleep talking hadn't even entered his thoughts. He wondered if she was just dreaming about dinner, or perhaps might be dreaming about him, specifically.

"So damn hot…" Oh. So she was dreaming about dinner. Those peppers hadn't been all that spicy, though.

"... the sexiest… want you… please… mine."

Still, he reminded himself, she could be talking about anything or anyone. Completely without his permision, his hand reached out to stroke her cheek and smooth her hair. She smiled in her sleep, turning her head towards his wrist and breathing in deeply.

"God, Edward. You always smell so good."

And then she pressed her lips into his palm.

_She's asleep. She's asleep. Can't molest her. Hands to self..._ he chanted furiously in his head, groaning aloud in frustration.

There was only so long he could wait for her. He had told himself it could be a year or so until she was ready for more. He could be patient. She was worth it. Now, though, he had to acknowledge that he could not wait. At the least, he would have to be clear with her about where he stood. He wanted her, desperately. He would wait for her, but he would not be passive. It was time to start actively seducing her.

In the morning.

He sighed deeply, struggling for a moment against his conscience which demanded that he either walk away right now or put her to sleep in her own bed without waking her up. His natural reflex was to do one of several other things.

He wanted to press himself against her, seeking a little relief in the friction he could imagine as he ground against her body. Maybe she would wake up and respond eagerly.

He wanted to take her to his bed, just to see what she would look like there. When she woke up, he could claim that being so sleepy had left him confused and he had accidentally put her in the wrong bed.

He wanted to take her to her own bed, and slip in beside her. He would breathe in her scent, bask in her warmth and spend the night listening to any other secrets she might let slip.

But none of these things were right. If she became his, _when_ she became his, he wanted her to be his of her own will. He wouldn't trick her into a relationship. He wouldn't take advantage of her when she was weak or unaware. He would not let his body start their relationship off on the wrong foot.

So he gently picked her up, cradling her against him and carried her into her own room. After he set her down on her bed, she snuggled into her pillow and smiled. He was about to walk away, but turned back, leaned down and pressed a light kiss to her cheek, whispering _sleep well_ as he touched his lips to her cheek one more time. She reacted wildly in her sleep, reaching up to fist her hands in his hair and inhaling sharply as she seeemed to seek out his mouth.

He didn't even have a chance to run his reaction through his Inner Voice of Reason. He leaned down and kissed her leaps eagerly, starting to let his hands roam down to her collarbone and under her shirt before he realized what he had done. Groaning again, he softly removed her hands from his hair, pulling her blanket up to cover her and then slumping against the wall as he tried to catch his breath. Bella stirred fretfully for a moment before rolling over and falling deeper into her sleep.

As he walked into his own room, he felt himself grinning. When she was his, it was going to be explosive. He could hardly wait.

* * *

When Bella woke up in the morning, she was oddly frustrated. She'd had a series of incredibly erotic dreams, all of which revolved around Edward. This was nothing new, as she'd been having those since the night she had met him. But these dreams had seemed even more present and real.

Her dreams had been saturated in his scent and the feel of his soft lips and stubbly cheeks against hers had seemed so lifelike that she could hardly fathom it had been only her imagination.

She recalled falling asleep in the living room and since she was now in her bed, she figured Edward must have carried her here. _Pathetic_, she thought. _He does something simple and kind and my obsessed mind spins a dozen of the most explicit, beautiful, mind blowing fantasies out of it._

Dragging herself out of bed, she went out in search of coffee and found Edward, Alice and Jasper sitting at the bar, digging into a box of donuts. Perfect Saturday morning fare. Greeting everyone, she reached up for her favorite mug, which for some bizarre reason Edward always put on the top shelf when he put away the dishes, and poured herself a cup of coffee before grabbing a donut and sitting down next to Edward.

Alice watched Edward surreptitiously as he gazed at Bella as she went on her tiptoes to get her mug from the top shelf. The fact that all of those mugs used to be on the bottom shelf did not escape her notice. _Pervert_, she laughed to herself. She realized that it was time to put one of her many plans into action.

"So Bella, I've been thinking," she started. All three of the others looked at her warily. "You're more than over Tyler by now, right? He's totally washed out of your hair, am I right?"

Bella shrugged her shoulders and mumbled, "He seems to be, yeah."

"Well then, it's time."

"Time for..." Bella asked nervously.

"Dating," Alice replied simply, watching out of the corner of her eye as Edward choked on a bit of donut.

"Alice, no. I can find my own guy, thanks," Bella said while trying (and failing) to not let her eyes drift towards Edward.

"I know you can. I'm just thinking that you should shop around a little. You were in the same relationship for so long, and you said you didn't date before that. Just... take a little time to have some fun. Nothing serious. Meet a few guys, have a few drinks or dinner and see what's out there."

"Alice," Bella started, clenching her jaw shut and exhaling slowly through her nose.

"Bella, really. It's not a big deal. Trust me, it will be good for you. Build your confidence. I have a friend who has a friend and it sounds like you're the type of girl he's looking for." Alice made it sound simple.

But Bella knew it wasn't going to be. "What if he's not what I'm looking for?" she asked.

"What are you looking for, Bella?" replied Jasper.

This was not a conversation she wanted to have in front of Edward. Wouldn't he recognize himself if she started in on her list?

"Alice, please..." she started, but was cut off.

"The date won't hurt you. Neither will making a list of what you want. What you need. Spill. What's on Bella's List of Necessary Attributes?"

"Fine," she started, staring intently into her cup of coffee. "We have to have a lot in common: music, movies, books, sense of humor. He definitely needs to make me laugh. I have to be able to respect him and what he does. He needs to have a sense of family, so I know he's trustworthy. I'd like him to be tall, though I suppose that's negotiable. I want him to be a man, not just a guy. A gentleman. Goals and ambitions, but also a sense of balance so he does more than just work. Good financial sense, but he doesn't need to have money. He's not going to freak out that I'm a virgin and make it his goal to get that over with, though I certainly hope he makes me want to give it up. He'll like my family, as crazy as they are. He'll enjoy being with me even if we aren't doing anything special. I want to be able to have conversations with him. He has to get me and know what makes me tick. Basically, someone I can trust as a friend, admire as an intellectual, and crave as a lover."

"Total manicorn," she heard Rosalie (_when did she get there?_) yell from the living room.

"What?" choked Bella as she tried to keep from inhaling her coffee.

"Manicorn. Like a unicorn, but a man. Mythically perfect and completely imaginary creature only attainable by an equally perfect virgin. Sort of like Lloyd Dobbler. Doesn't exist," she said dismissively.

"What Rose? You don't think I'm perfect?" pouted Emmett.

"Sure you are, darling. But no virgin in her right mind would get anywhere near you."

"Well, if anyone has a chance with a manicorn, it would be Bella with her v-card," laughed Alice. She saw Bella turn much more red than normal and start to look uncomfortable. "Bella, I'm not making fun of you. I think it's wonderful that you never got anywhere with Tyler. He wasn't worth giving it up for. Your manicorn will be. Now. For tonight, he's probably not anywhere near being your mythically perfect guy, but you can still have fun. He'll be meeting you at 7:30 at the Italian place down the street. Rosalie and I will be helping you get ready."

"Alice, really. I don't like the idea of a blind date. What if he's a creep? What if he puts something in my drink or..."

"I'll go with you," Edward said.

Bella just looked at him, stricken at the sad look on his face.

"I'll walk you there, and I'll wait unobtrusively at the bar, keeping an eye out. If you want to go home with him, you can just text me or something and I'll leave," he said in an oddly flat voice.

"I will not be going home with anyone but you, Edward," she replied, looking straight into his eyes.

Edward's face broke out into a smile that nearly broke her heart with its beauty.

Later that evening, Bella found herself squeezed into a pair of jeans a bit tighter than anything she'd normally wear (though she had to admit that she liked the way they made her feel), wearing a sweater and some boots since the weather had gotten much cooler during the course of the day. Alice had helped with her hair and make up before leaving on her own date with Jasper.

She wondered why Edward would have volunteered for the job of babysitting her tonight, but she coldn't let herself turn down his offer. As she grabbed her purse, she couldn't help but wish that she was getting ready to go out with him, not with mystery boy.

Edward was waiting by the door, and as Bella came out of his room he nearly canceled. She was so perfect, so very much everything he wanted that he didn't think he could handle watching her having a good time with another guy. He stayed quiet as they left the apartment, lightly touching her shoulder as he helped her pull on her jacket and then resting his hand on her lower back for a moment as he let her step into the elevator first. He couldn't help but touch her as much as possible on the way, seeming to act by some primal impulse to mark him as his.

They paused outside of the restaurant and he grabbed her arm to stop her from going in. "If he makes you uncomfortable, if he does anything out of line, I will have you out of there as soon as possible. Just ask."

She reached up and lightly kissed his cheek. "I know you will. I trust you."

She walked in, seeing Edward go to a stool at the far end of the bar and gave her name to the hostess who led her not to a table but to a seat at the bar next to an obviously drunk guy.

"Wow. You must be Bella," he slurred. "My friend wasn't lying. He promised me that any friend of his friend would be hot. You're late, though. I've been sitting here since seven waiting for you."

Bella murmured something about being told a different time, but he waved it off. "What will you have to drink?" he asked as he ordered another of whatever he was having.

This was not going to go well. As he tossed back his shot, he turned to her, once again letting his eyes rake over her appreciatively. He brushed her hair back over her shoulder and leaned in to kiss her. Bella tensed, but nearly broke out in amused but completely disgusted laughter as he licked her from collarbone to temple.

"Oh Hell no!" she said, trying to sound firm while fighting the ridiculous need to laugh. "This is over," she finished while looking around for Edward.

"What do you mean over? I've spent a ton of cash in drinks here waiting for your late ass. You're going to stay and finish your drink and the night will finish when I've gotten to spend some time seeing what's under that cute sweater of yours."

For a moment, Bella felt a bit of panic as she couldn't see Edward anywhere. But when the guy, who was still trying to press himself against her, was suddenly pushed back against the bar, she realized that he had indeed been looking out for her. "Come on, man! I'm out twenty bucks on this girl. She hasn't even put out yet. You know that's not right," he complained to a clearly irrate Edward. Edward shoved a twenty into the guy's hand and the guy grinned. "Good enough. Nighty nighty, sweetcheeks," he laughed as he stumbled off of his chair.

"She's worth so much more than that, but I'm glad you won't stick around to find out for yourself," Edward growled. He stood with his hands braced on the bar, fuming.

Bella sat silently for a bit. She knew that Edward was, above all, a gentleman. He wouldn't want any woman treated like that. Was this for her, because he wanted her, or because he looked at her as a sister or a friend like Alice or Rosalie? She stood and slipped under his arm, giving him a hug in thanks, letting the warmth of his body and the scent of his skin calm her. Suddenly, Edward wrapped his arms around her, pulling her flush against himself, exhaling raggedly. He stepped back and the look in his eyes was staggeringly possessive. Bella thought her knees might give out.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her out of the restaurant, walking quickly back towards their apartment. They said nothing the whole way back.

As he unlocked the door and started to turn the handle, he looked away from her, wrinkling his forehead and clenching his jaw. Was he angry at her for not getting away from the guy sooner? Had she messed up things between them?

He let her walk in first and she removed her shoes and jacket, taking his jacket from him and hanging it up. Edward stood there, still as a statue and she didn't know what to do next.

He looked dead into her eyes and said, "No more blind dates."

She nodded her head in full agreement.

"No more of Alice deciding what you need."

Again, she nodded, struggling to keep her breath regular.

"You're mine, Bella."

Her eyes widened and her breath picked up. He strode towards her and stopped when his body was nearly, but not quite, flush against hers. That small bit of separation was agony.

"Say you want me."

"I want you, Edward," she gasped.

His smile was that of a predator who had successfully corned his prey. It was the sexiest thing Bella had ever seen.

Their kiss was like nothing Bella had ever felt before. Every cell in her body was on fire with desire. Hands were everywhere, lips roaming freely, the taste of him was all she wanted in her mouth forever. She vaguely realized that she had gone from being pressed against the wall, to being laid down on the couch, to her current position straddling him. She could feel him under her as they both ground against each other, hands sliding under clothing, lips and tongues and teeth attacking, devouring. She thought she might die of the sensation of Edward, all of him – his skin, his hair, his breath, his hands, his length and it was all suddenly too much. She realized that he had slipped his hand between her legs and was cupping her roughly, rubbing and pressing and then – she was lost.

The sight of Bella as she came was amazing. The sounds she made were better than anything he'd ever heard. He wanted to make her do that all night, every night. There was no way he could stop now.

So he did.

He slowed the movement of his hand as she came down from her high. He stilled his hips and gentled his kisses, watching as she slowly regained the ability to focus her eyes and breathe normally. He couldn't help but grin at her, pleased with himself for having made her look this blissfully happy and beautiful.

"Mine," he whispered as he peppered her cheeks and neck with sweet kisses.

"Yours," she agreed, leaning her cheek on his chest.

"I want you, Bella. You have no idea how much..." he started, but stopped when Bella's laughter surprised him.

"I think I got a good feeling for how much you want me," she grinned cockily. "I think it's equal to how much I want you. I don't want to wait another minute for you, but that means I probably should."

"You deserve to wait. You need to experience a normal relationship, the way it was meant to be before it gets complicated with sex. I will have you. But in time, when you're ready," he said.

"How will you know when I'm ready?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. My only plan for now is to make you as crazy for me as I possibly can. Then, when we can't handle waiting any more, we'll be ready."

"I don't think you're going to have to try very hard or wait very long, Edward," Bella sighed.

"I'm counting on that."


	9. Chapter 9: Fragile Things

_Fragile Things_

_A/N: I've dropped the Foo Fighters titles for a Neil Gaiman one. I think it fits. This chapter earns its rating. I hope that I've made it appropriate for these two characters in this situation. Enjoy, please, and tell me what you think about it._

_- - - - - -  
_

The morning after Bella's disastrous blind date, Edward woke up grinning.

He hadn't planned on kissing her so soon. His plan, as he'd escorted her that night, was to make sure that whoever it was Alice had set her up with kept his hands to himself and went home frustrated.

He hadn't expected to feel such rage when The Loser had tried to kiss her, and then to hear what he'd said... it took every bit of Edward's self control not to throw that idiot to the ground and pummel him. In the end, though, it was the best twenty dollars he'd ever spent.

He'd planned to tell Bella how he felt and that he wanted her. He'd planned to give her a sweet, simple kiss and say goodnight. He'd planned to take his time with her, letting the romantic side of their relationship develop slowly and sweetly over weeks or months.

All of his plans were undone by the fervor in Bella's voice when she had said, "I want you, Edward." They were simple enough words, but her body language was eloquent. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were bright and her chest was heaving. That was hard enough to watch, but he was still in control of himself, still able to give her that gentle kiss and walk away.

But then she broke his control.

She bit lightly on her lower lip, something that made him crazy enough on an ordinary day; then she released it and locked her gaze on his lips.

He could taste her even before he kissed her. He let himself relive that amazing kiss and the way she had come undone at his hand and smiled again. She was _his_ now, and he was just getting started.

Bella woke up from one of the most beautiful dreams she'd ever had. In her dream, Edward had kissed her. Not just any kiss, but one that was beyond anything she'd imagined in her fantasies. She wished desperately that it hadn't just been a dream.

She went to wash her face and shake off the last remnants of sleep before she went out to face Edward and Alice. As she went to pat her face dry, she looked at herself in the mirror, curious to see if a simple dream about Edward had painted her face with a permanent blush. It had, but that wasn't what had caught her eye. On the soft skin in the hollow of her collarbone was a rather large bruise.

_It had actually happened_, she marveled, letting her fingers trace the mark.

Quiet laughter from behind alerted her that Edward was there.

"I knocked, but you didn't answer. I thought you were done. The door wasn't locked."

"I never do lock the door any more. Don't want to lock you out accidentally again," she murmured as her gaze shifted between the Edward reflected in the mirror and the mark on her skin.

"Mmmm... That's a nice one," he said, stepping towards her and wrapping his arms around her waist. He bent over her, slipping her shirt aside and kissing her in that very spot again, watching Bella's reflection in the mirror. He was delighted to see her eyes flutter shut and a smile stretch across her face.

"I'd be glad to give you more of those," he said against her skin. "Maybe... here," fingers drifting across her stomach. "Or here," fingers slipping under the hem of her shirt and tickling her side. "Or here," he said, burying his face in her hair to kiss the back of her neck. His hands ghosted all over her body, from her shoulders down to her thighs. "Anywhere you like."

Her head fell back against his chest with a thud. He hoped he hadn't overdone it. Early morning was not exactly the time of day in which he had his best judgment. At the moment it was taking every bit of self restraint not to coax her to join him in the bed he'd just left.

She surprised him yet again by turning around, pressing herself against him and slipping her hands under his shirt as she started to kiss him passionately. "I thought," she kissed him, "it was just... a dream..." alternating her words with more kisses. "It was such... a good dream. But this... you... are even better... than any dream... I have ever... had."

Her hands were warm and moved insistently across his skin as she kept control of the kiss. He surrendered willingly. He noticed with surprise that they had moved into her room. He pulled back from her kiss for a moment and cocked an eyebrow at her.

"I've decided that I'm not ready to be up yet."

Edward, though, was already up, so to speak. When Bella felt him press against her after they fell on her bed, she was absolutely ready for him. She wanted him.

Now.

As he pressed against her again, she spread her legs to accommodate him, and he settled in where he fit so naturally. It was heaven for just one fleeting moment, until his Inner Voice of Reason started to remind him of his resolve to take his time with her and then the kiss suddenly turned into hell.

He was really starting to hate that cockblocking conscience of his. How was he going to get out of this without hurting her feelings or making it sound like he didn't want her, desperately? But he had to stop it right now or…

He was saved by the ringing of her phone.

He laughed as he heard the ring tone. "Madness?" he said.

"I always loved that song. Sounded like a fun family," she shrugged as she slipped away from him to answer the phone. He started to move away to give her some privacy, but she pressed him back against the mattress and snuggled up to him. He pressed a light kiss to her forehead as she started to chat with her mom.

He woke up later as the mattress dipped and soft kisses teased his lips. He wanted to wake up to her face every morning.

"You look so good in my bed," she said dreamily. "I brought you coffee."

He sat up, leaning back against the headboard and pulled her to sit in front of him so that her back rested against his chest.

"I'll come to your bed any time you want. But like I said last night, I want to take my time with you, Bella. I want to savor this. I've never felt like this about any one. This isn't just about your virginity. This is for me, too."

Bella sighed in contentment. "Manicorns do exist after all."

- - - - - - - -

Three months, one bout of shared stomach flu, two shopping trips with Alice, three PMS roller coasters, and four of Bella's physical injuries (one sliced finger while chopping onions, one slip on wet pavement, one tumble that apparently involved thin air, and one slightly sprained wrist from an incident involving Emmett, Jasper, Edward, the television remote and a bag of chips -- she still wasn't sure how that one happened) later and they were still going strong. They were still cockblocked, which Edward was enduring with good grace, and Bella had eventually come to accept that this was probably what she needed, even as she feared that it was becoming a problem for Edward.

She had gone to lunch with Angela shortly after things had started up with Edward. Alice and Rosalie were great to talk to, but Bella needed someone on the outside to listen objectively. She needed to know she wasn't crazy for feeling so strongly for someone so shortly after meeting him.

"Bella," Angela had reassured her, "lots of people find themselves head over heels after just a few dates. Maybe you haven't dated Edward in the technical sense, but just think about it. He's seen you more vulnerable than almost anyone else you know, and he was kind and caring and sweet and just _there_ for you. I know it might be weird to think of that wedding as a date, but… what else would you call it? You dressed up, you danced, he ended up getting his hands under your dress…" Angela stopped for a bit to laugh at Bella's blush.

"Not to mention all of the meals and conversations and trips to the grocery store and everything else. You guys have logged more hours together than most couples do after a month or two of dating."

"The thing is, Bella, I never once saw you react to Tyler the way you do to Edward. The guys themselves are apples and oranges. It would make sense that you would have intense feelings for Edward. He's very much fairytale Prince Charming material. If it were me, I would be having a really hard time staying out of his bed."

Angela stopped talking and watched Bella's usually eloquent face for clues. It didn't take much detective work to figure out that Edward's bed was where Bella craved to be, but Angela could tell that she hadn't allowed herself that pleasure yet.

"I haven't, I mean, we… we've kissed. _A lot._ And he's really, really good with his hands," Bella said quietly, blushing even more at Angela's raised eyebrows. "Yes, his hands. I swear, though, he'd barely have to look at me and I'd come apart at the seams. The thing is, I want to have sex with him more than anything. I'm ready to throw caution to the wind and just, for once, be careless and not worried about rules or better judgment or plans or anything. Just let myself enjoy. But Edward thinks I need to wait."

"Do you trust him?" Angela asked.

"With my life," Bella said firmly.

"That's different. You'd trust Charlie or Ben or me with your life. Do you trust him with your heart? Do you trust him to never betray you? Never leave you? More than all of that, do you trust yourself to be enough for him so you never have to fear that what happened with Tyler will happen with Edward?"

Bella wasn't able to answer that last part so easily.

"Bella, most people these days aren't worried about keeping their virginity. It's something they want to get rid of so they can move on. You aren't like that. You've grown up differently, with different expectations. If you do this hastily, you will regret it. If you do this before you are absolutely sure about him, it will only make it that much more difficult when you have to work through problems with him. And there will be problems. There always are, eventually. Take your time. If he's worth it, he'll wait for you."

So here they were, in November already, still limited to groping, fondling, petting… making out. It was hot, certainly, and Edward was very, very good at it. He never brought the issue up, but it was constantly nagging at the back of Bella's mind. She sometimes found herself getting tense when he touched her since she knew that she'd be starting something she couldn't finish. She was waiting for him to get fed up and move on. So far, though, he'd always managed to soothe away her fears with his sweet kisses and his sweeter words.

Edward found the waiting difficult, of course, but had to admit that he was really enjoying himself. He loved how little he had to do to send her over the edge. Getting off with her during make out time was better than the sex he'd had with the other girls he'd been with. He had established a few basic rules with himself to improve his self control and lessen his temptation.

He'd established a fairly regular self care routine, since he couldn't let his blue balls take over his judgment. If he went into a make out session already relaxed, it made it easier to walk away without turning into a begging, pleading middle school boy or a lust addled caveman.

His clothes stayed on if any of Bella's came off. Perhaps a true gentleman would not be so eager to remove his girl's shirt and bra, but surely that was because no gentleman had ever been tempted by breasts like Bella's. He simply couldn't leave them covered.

He'd allowed himself the pleasure of touching her body fully, but had always made sure to leave some clothes on her when he did. He didn't think his self control was a match for a naked and willing Bella.

Yes, willing. Very, very willing.

He knew that a part of her wanted the same thing he wanted. Needed it even. But he knew that another part of her was not ready yet. He needed her to be fully ready and willing. Because once he had her, he'd never be able to leave her alone again. Never be able to walk away.

Surprisingly enough, his encouragement to keep to his plan came from Emmett. Emmett was prone to crude jokes and a painful frankness about his sex life. Painful for those who had to listen to it, that is. One night, Edward had begged him to stop with the suggestive comments about Bella, explaining that it made it that much harder to wait for her. Emmett had a bit of fun with Edward's use of the word 'harder,' but then he had nodded and said something that had truly surprised Edward.

"I waited almost a year for Rose, you know."

"She was used to guys just wanting her for her body. I wanted that, of course, but I wanted all of her. I was friends with her for almost two semesters before I even asked her out. Drove her crazy. We flirted, but I kept my distance. I didn't date anyone else, though she dated a few guys. I was just always there for her whether it was to pick her up when she was on a date with a creep and needed to get away, or to fix something in her apartment; whatever. Then, when I did ask her out, I took it really slow. All the romantic stuff you see in movies: picnics, winning stuffed animals at the fair, flowers. All that shit. At first, she was frantic. Every single date, she'd get herself naked or try to get me naked, and I'd slow her down. I think she found it hard to believe that I would wait. Finally, she calmed down and just enjoyed _us_."

"Your Bella is different, but if you think about it, she's got a lot in common with Rose. She basically got betrayed and dumped because of sex. She's probably scared out of her mind that she's not enough for you without giving it up. You have to be really careful to keep the pressure off."

- - - - - - - - -

Movie night was, hands down, the best night of the week. The routine was predictable: Emmett and Rose would join them for dinner, be vocal about the movie selection, but lose focus on the movie after a half hour and would head home.

Alice and Jasper would usually end up leaving after the first movie, though they didn't always make it that long either.

Bella and Edward would lie down on the floor together, snuggling but mostly paying attention to the first movie. A second movie was always started, but never watched.

In the first month, somewhere near the end of the first movie, Edward would transition from rubbing Bella's back or arms, to sliding his hand just under her shirt. Bella never wore a bra on movie nights, telling herself that the underwire was just too uncomfortable when she was lying on the ground like that.

Now, after three months of movie nights, Edward was sure of her habit, and it didn't take long before he had his fingers on her nipples through most of the movie. He wasn't always active and groping. He just loved to have a palm full of breast. But his hands were happiest at the end of the movie night, when he'd slide them into Bella's pajamas, slip past the barrier of her cute little boyshorts and push his fingers deep into her. His reward was watching her beautiful face as she came, feeling her as every muscle in her body tensed and then went slack, and then sliding his fingers back out and tasting them before he held her and kissed her sweetly to sleep.

After a few movie nights, Bella had become master of the teasing grind. She loved the feeling of his arousal against her back while they lay together and nothing was better than rubbing her ass against it. She tried not to over do it, since it was certain to be uncomfortable for him, but he was just too tempting to stay away from. In the first month, she had done it 'accidentally.' But these days she was shameless in her attacks on his groin. More than that, though, Bella had become Queen of the Hand Job. Movie nights ended with Happy Endings for both of them, regardless of the type of movie they were watching.

Edward had been shy about this at first, which struck her as strange since he was so relentless when he was determined to give her pleasure. He seemed to think it was an imposition or something she was doing to pacify him. Something she couldn't enjoy for herself. But she had persisted. In the end, it had taken her quiet request to, "Please, let me do this. I want to do this; I want to see you come," that had broken down his resistance. He had to admit that he would much rather Bella do this, than do it himself.

Bella had tried to go down on him, but he wouldn't let her. Nor would he go down on her. She'd been slightly hurt when it had first happened, but Edward had explained that he couldn't do that to her and not take her. He also couldn't watch her do that, and not take her. It was too connected in his mind. Maybe someday he'd be able to handle it. But not now.

Bella tried to be calm and trust him. Trust herself. But she saw the way that women threw themselves at Edward. He didn't seem to notice, or at least not when she was with him. She was glad once again that Edward worked from home and wasn't surrounded by women all day.

The day after their very first kiss and after an epic afternoon discussion about Neil Gaiman's _Sandman_ comics and his novels, Bella and Edward had ended up talking about what each of them wanted to do in the future. Edward had brought Bella into his room to see his work. His art. Apparently, those beautiful hands did more than just touch her skillfully. He drew amazing things. He had grown up wanting to illustrate comic books, but these days most of his work was for different marketing campaigns. He confessed that he could see different potential characters in his mind, could tell who they were and what they were like, wanted to make his own fictional universes, but he couldn't come up with proper storylines for them.

Bella had explained that even though she was excited to soon be teaching literature at the college level, she had always been a secret writer. She had written what she now recognized as fan fiction from a very young age whenever she got attached to a movie or book series. She'd gone on to write some of her own original things, but none of it was good enough to show to anyone. She could imagine worlds of stories, but had a hard time focusing on the characters themselves in order to develop them properly.

They had joked about a future collaboration: his faces with her storylines. It had left them both slightly dreamy about how idyllic it sounded. Like they were planning their future together, right then. Like it would work, and work well.

This freelance work was what allowed Edward to be home in the mornings when Bella left and in the evenings when she came home. With the colder weather, he had the freedom to drive her to and from school instead of letting her walk or take the bus or risk her increasingly unreliable truck. It was a routine that they had both come to depend on, and rarely changed.

This week, though, they were expecting company. Some sisters that had known the Cullens forever were coming into town. Bella was interested in meeting more of their friends. She had briefly met Carlisle and Esme the month before, and it had gone well. She hoped that these friends would be just as easy to get along with. Their plane was due to arrive just about the same time that Bella finished at school, so she'd be going home without Edward that day. He had chauffeur duty.

She'd had to stay a bit late to get more books from the library, and she hoped that Edward would be there by the time she got there. When she was finally home, she was wet from the rain that had started up just after she'd gotten off the bus, so she decided to grab a shower and warm up. She went into the bathroom and had almost turned on the water when she heard voices from Edward's room. His voice and a female voice. She thought maybe she should say hello before her shower, but the words she heard made her stop altogether.

"Edward, I do love being in your bed."

That was followed by the sound of Edward's quiet laughter. The lack of conversation felt ominous and Bella couldn't help but imagine what else was going on.

"I love to get my hands on this thing. There's nothing else like it. It's like it was made for my hands."

"Gently, Tanya! Damn. Don't grab it so roughly."

"Ah, I forget. It's not just any wood, is it? Your precious. Mmm… Velvety smooth. So, tell me about your Bella. Is she as lovely as I hear?"

"Stay away from Bella. Try to control yourself. If she finds out about you, it might freak her out. Oh, I have something new to try this time. You'll like this brand better."

"Mmmm… You're right, this is better."

"Try to keep it in your mouth. I think you need to make your tongue a little firmer. Just like that. Blow."

"This kind isn't as rubbery as the other kind. It feels so much better against my tongue."

"Just remember to be careful on the release this time. Last time it took forever to get it out of your hair."

_Holy Fuck_. This was why Edward wasn't in any hurry. That… bitch was in there with her man, her hands on his velvety smooth cock, giving him a blow job, talking about condoms? _Her man_, she scoffed. Fuck that. She was not going through this again. Ever.

She went back into her room, changed into dry clothes, and slipped back out of the apartment as quietly as she could. She stood at Angela's door fifteen minutes later, having finally broken down into tears.

Angela and Ben sat and listened to what she had to say, from the part about his resistance to hand jobs, to his refusal of oral sex and now this – his 'visitor.' Angela looked like she was ready to throttle Edward, but Ben just looked confused.

"Bella, I don't know exactly what's going on, but I think you're mistaken," Ben told her.

"How could I be mistaken? You heard what I told you they said, right?"

"I know. But you didn't see anything. What if what you heard was not what happened? What if it was something more innocent, something that just happened to sound really dirty?"

Both Bella and Angela looked at Ben incredulously. "Listen, I've met him a few times. He's really into you, Bella. He doesn't even notice other girls in the room, even when they are doing everything in their power to get his attention. His full focus is on you. Also, he just doesn't seem like the kind of guy who plays around. Tyler didn't surprise me. I mean, yeah, the extent of it and everything was shocking, but I wasn't surprised that he ended up being an ass. Edward's not like that. He's no Tyler."

"Ben," Angela started.

"No Ang, I'm right about this," he insisted. "Bella, you need to go back there and observe. Keep your mind open and give him the benefit of the doubt. If you end up seeing more, seeing something that makes you positive that he's been lying to you, then come back here and stay with us until you figure out what you need to do and I suppose I'll go do my duty and beat the crap out of him. But don't make up your mind in advance that he's done something bad. I honestly think he's a good guy. Try to trust him, to let yourself be vulnerable. You don't want to lose him over a misunderstanding. You need to be sure about this before you walk away."

Bella cleaned her face and used some of Angela's make up to minimize the traces of tears. She made her way back to the apartment, but lost her focus and slipped on the wet stairs in front of the building, skinning her palms. As she put her key in the lock, she could hear that the apartment seemed to be full of happy voices. She took a deep breath and put on a mask of indifference as she walked in.

When Edward heard the door open, he vaulted over the back of the couch and grabbed her up into a passionate hug and kiss. Bella gasped a bit from the intensity of it. Was it guilt? Or was he just happy she was home? He took a look at her face and could see that something was off. She showed him her palms and said she needed to go clean up before she met everyone. He watched her walk away, suddenly frightened that something more was separating them.

Something was very, very wrong.

She was quiet when she was introduced to Tanya, Irina, Kate and Eleazar. That in itself was not unusual, since she was prone to being shy around new people. But Edward could feel the difference in her body. She kept a buffer of space between them; she didn't lean into his kisses like she normally did. Her smile, though, was the most painful part. It wasn't his Bella smiling. It was the Bella he'd met that first night at the coffee shop. Broken Bella.

"Well, Tanya, did you get to play Edward's guitar yet? I swear that's the only reason you visit – to get your hands on that Les Paul of his," laughed Alice.

"All afternoon! I adore that guitar. I love the satin finish on the neck. It's so velvety smooth. But Edward complains that I manhandle it. He's afraid it might get a nick or a scratch."

The conversation ebbed and flowed around Edward and Bella, but neither of them was able to participate much. Edward could feel Bella slipping from him, and he was frantically trying to figure out why.

"I brought dessert!" shouted Emmett as he dropped a huge bag of chewing gum on the table. It seemed like such an odd choice that Bella couldn't help but turn to Edward and ask why gum was enough for Emmett's dessert (especially since Emmett's dessert was normally the size of an average person's meal).

"Emmett likes to watch Tanya and Rosalie compete. They're both really good at blowing bubbles with gum. Emmett seems to find it a turn on. Tanya hates that kind of gum, though. Says it's too rubbery. The last time they did this, both girls ended up having to cut gum out of their hair when the bubbles got too big and popped all over their faces," Edward murmured in Bella's ear, happy for a chance to get close to her again.

"What guy wouldn't get turned on by that," Bella commented in a flat voice.

Edward gently ran his hand through Bella's hair, stroking the skin at the nape of her neck. "I don't. Now, if you were there blowing bubbles with them, I'm sure I'd feel differently." When she couldn't even manage to smile, he became paranoid. She always laughed at his jokes and innuendo. She always relaxed at his touch. Yet she sat there, stiff and still, no humor in her eyes at all. Just deep sadness.

The entire meal was agony for Bella. Clearly, this was a group of longtime friends, happy to be back together. She had no place here. Tanya kept looking at her and smiling, and Bella couldn't help but feel that she'd been sized up and discounted as no threat. It was true. Tanya and the other sisters were gorgeous in an exotic, model-like way. That was the sort of girl who belonged with Edward.

What she couldn't understand was why he was keeping up the charade. Perhaps, like Jessica and Tyler, it would make the sex all that much better later, when they could laugh at Bella. When Edward caressed her hair and neck, she suddenly went from passively sad to intensely angry. She could not sit there and become a fool again. She had to get out, no matter what Ben's advice had been. Ben was wrong, plain and simple.

She'd help clear the table, stay in the kitchen to wash up; then, as soon as she could manage, she'd pretend to go to sleep. Instead, she'd use the time to pack. It was time. Better to be alone than to be a fool.

The other girls obliged Emmett by starting their chewing gum contest. Bella declined as tactfully as she could, saying that she preferred to take over the kitchen duties so the old friends could hang out and enjoy each other's company. While in the kitchen, she could hear the conversation in the living room. It sounded like Rosalie was winning.

"Edward, I think I should talk to Bella. I think I may have frightened her. She's not normally this quiet, is she?" Tanya's voice was slightly muted, but still clear in the kitchen.

Bella could hear Edward's frustrated sigh before he answered Tanya. "No, she's not. Something is wrong and I don't know what it is. She's not herself. She won't touch me, she won't talk to me… But I can't get her to tell me what's wrong."

"Maybe she will talk to me then," Tanya replied.

_Oh no. Please, please don't come in here so I have to be nice to you_, Bella prayed.

"Why would she talk to you? She doesn't know you. Just leave her alone. I'll talk to her tonight, when we're alone."

_Not if I can help it_, Bella thought.

"You're sure that talking is all you want to do with her when you're alone?" Tanya joked.

"It's not like that with us, not yet."

_There is the crux of it. The reason he wants her, instead of me_, Bella sighed.

"Not yet, perhaps. But I see the way you look at her. I could see it in the photographs of the two of you. You adore her. It fascinates me. I've never known you to be like this over a girl before. Now that I've met her, I can see why, of course. Are you sure the reason you don't want me near her is because you're afraid of a little competition? Afraid I might steal her away from you? You know how good I am..."

_She is not standing there saying how good Edward is in bed, is she?_ Bella sobbed internally.

"I'm fairly sure that girls aren't her thing, Tanya. You can try, but I don't think you'll be her type."

_Wait, what?_

Girls are Tanya's thing? Not boys? Not Edward? Tanya… didn't want Edward? Tanya wanted… _Bella_? What had all of that talk in Edward's bedroom been about? Smooth… guitar neck? Blowing gum bubbles?

_Oh God. He hadn't… he wasn't…_

The plate Bella was drying slipped out of her hand and shattered on the floor as she began to cry. She had misunderstood. Completely. She had never been so glad to have been so wrong.

"Bella! Love, are you alright?" Edward came flying into the kitchen, scooping her up and taking her away from the broken pottery. He ran his hands over her face and arms checking for cuts, then cupped her cheeks and wiped the tears away with his thumbs. "Please, please tell me what is wrong. How can I fix this, whatever it is?"

Bella just clung to him, burying her face into his chest. He gently picked her up, cradling her to him and carried her into her room, closing and locking the door behind him, ignoring Alice and Emmett along the way. He sat down on her bed, tucked her more tightly against him and asked her again, "Please. I need to know what I did. I can't stand to see you hurting like this."

"You didn't do anything. It was all me," she cried as she explained the whole misunderstood conversation and all of her fears. "I just feel like I can't possibly be enough for you. How is it not driving you crazy that we aren't having sex? Aren't you used to having that in your relationships? How long can I viably keep you waiting for me? When I heard all of that, it just felt like something I deserved. Like it would be completely natural that if you couldn't have sex with me, then you'd have it with someone else."

"Bella, I've only been with a few women. One of them was Tanya, a very long time ago." Bella looked up into Edward's face, shocked and mortified. He shook his head slowly and kissed her, trying to reassure her.

"It wasn't like that. When we were seventeen, she wasn't sure if she preferred men or women. I was someone… safe to experiment with. I was seventeen! Any girl willing to let me get her naked and not expect that it would lead to marriage was a dream come true at that age. It lasted for a summer. At the end of the summer she thanked me for the experience, said it was great but that she had decided women were definitely her thing and she probably would have been happier with Alice."

"I had a pretty steady girlfriend when I first went to college, but it wasn't very exciting and it didn't last long. It was more of a release from stress than anything else. I haven't had any other relationships and I'm not into one night stands. I'm used to… taking care of my stress myself, I guess."

"Bella," he pulled her chin up so he could see her face clearly. "I will not lie to you. I am desperate to get you naked and have no boundaries between us. There is nothing I want more than to make love to you. But it's _you_ I want, not just sex. And it won't be good unless you are fully ready. I would wait years with no sex if it meant I could be with you. I need _you_, Bella. All of you. Without you, I…" his voice cracked.

Edward had shut his eyes, seeming to fight off tears. Bella hadn't stopped crying since the kitchen.

The apartment had fallen very quiet.

"Bella. What were you going to do tonight, when you thought I was cheating on you?" he asked softly.

Bella stared at her hands for a long minute. "I had already left. I went to Angela, and I think she was ready to take me in again. Ben convinced me to come back and investigate a bit more. He didn't think you were the kind of guy who would do that."

Edward felt winded, like someone had punched him in the stomach. "And tonight? When you sat next to me at dinner, I could see you were unhappy. What were you going to do?"

She couldn't answer. To say, out loud, that she had been ready to leave him was just too painful, too real.

But Edward could see it in her eyes. He dropped his head and sighed.

"I nearly lost you, didn't I? You would have left without saying anything, wouldn't you?"

Bella nodded slowly. "I… I knew that I couldn't talk to you about it. I wouldn't have believed it if you had denied it. It just doesn't make sense, Edward. _We_ don't make sense. You can do better than me. You belong with someone who looks like Tanya. Everywhere we go, girls who are ten times prettier than me throw themselves at you. They'd probably be much more willing than I am, more free."

"You don't understand, Bella. I don't _see_ anyone else. I don't shop around for other girls, wondering if they'd be better. I compare them to you sometimes, but only in a way that has you as the standard. None of them come close to you. I don't want anyone else. I don't need anyone else. Only you," he said as he kissed her cheeks and forehead.

"You are so much more than your face or your body. I do love your face," he said while stroking her cheeks with his fingers, "and your body… I can never get enough of it," he growled, sliding his hands down to her waist. "But that is not what you are. I love your heart, your soul, your mind. All of you. When you've fattened up because you've had a dozen of my babies; when we're old and saggy and gray -- I will still love you, because you are you. Please believe me. I love you. Only you."

He sat back to look at her, to see if he had her permission to continue. "Only you," he repeated again and again as he kissed her jaw, her throat, her collarbone. His hands moved gently to her neck, sliding into her hair as he tilted her head back to feast on her throat.

"Edward," Bella sighed. He whispered her name reverently as she ran her fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry, Edward."

"What could you possibly have to apologize for," he asked, his lips still brushing the side of her neck.

"For not trusting you. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt, and asked you about it. I won't make that mistake again, I promise."

"Bella," he sighed. "All I want you to promise is that you will never leave me without telling me. Give me the chance to fight for us. Without you, Bella, I'm nothing. I need you. I need you in my life, in my home, in my arms. Please, don't leave me."

"I'm not leaving you."

"Not now, you aren't," he sighed sadly. "Do you need me, Bella?"

That he would even have to ask her that surprised her. "Of course I do! Whether it's wise or not, you've become my world, Edward. My life."

"You have my heart, Bella. No one else has ever come close."

He kissed her softly and sweetly, banishing her fears with his tenderness and attention. He continued to whisper _only you _as his lips moved across her skin. _Please_, he thought, _need me like I need you. Please. Don't leave me. Don't break me_.

He pulled back to look at her again, needing to read her face when he told her. "I love you Bella Swan. More than anything, I love you. I need you, always."

It wasn't just the words that convinced her. It was his eyes. Dark with passion and lust, yes, but full of adoration and trust and hope and need. He needed her. It might be unbelievable, but it was true. Somehow, he belonged to her. "I love you, Edward Cullen. With my whole heart. I don't want to imagine a world without you in it."

"Tell me that you want me, Bella," he begged, his voice low and rough.

"I want you Edward," Bella answered as she launched herself at him.

Just like their very first kiss, they could not touch, taste, breathe, hear, feel enough of the other. This was not a kiss of tender, heartfelt emotion, but a kiss of raw need.

Soon, Edward's shirt was flung to the floor and his belt followed. He tried to slow her hands a bit, but he was no match for her. Instead, he went on the attack himself. He slid her shirt off, fixing his mouth on her breast before he could even get her bra off. His fingers could hardly decide if they wanted to unsnap the bra or just pull her breasts out and display them for his greedy eyes. No barrier, was the final decision and he tore her bra in his haste to get rid of it.

He had almost lost the privilege of feasting on these luscious breasts. He moaned as he bit and suckled and grabbed and twisted them. _Only you_, he growled in between bites.

Bella was twisting and whimpering below him, trying to get herself in the position she needed to be in. It was all too much and not enough all at once. She thought she'd go mad trying to find her balance. She said his name again and again, begging for something she couldn't even explain.

Edward pulled back to look at her face, flushed and beautiful as she panted and writhed. He reached down to pull her jeans off and crawled back up to her. With a look of smug confidence, he shoved one thigh roughly between her legs and pulled her hips down hard, sliding her pelvis across his thigh. When her eyes rolled back, and her body quivered, he knew she was close. She was growing slicker and hotter as she slid across his jeans again and again. He took one hand from her hip and slid it down on top of her panties and pressed firmly. He put his lips to her ear and whispered again, _only you_, and bit down on her neck. With that, she was gone. Her body arched up as she cried out his name. Her hands flailed and fisted in the sheets before she grabbed onto his head, pushing him against her neck. Her thighs tightened around his as she ground out the last of her release and then stilled.

They lay there in the dim room, sweaty and tired and happy and sad all at once. It could all have been lost so easily. But they were there; they were together.

Edward and Bella.

Bella felt herself start to drift as Edward pulled her to him, settling in for the night. This was heaven, right here. Edward was here and he was hers just as she was his. Body and soul. And there was what she loved to feel: him hard against her back. Nothing made her feel more powerful than to know that she had turned him on like that.

Which woke her right up.

Her sense of satiation was absolute. She had never imagined that with no penetration, she could feel that full and complete. But Edward was still in need, incomplete. Too much of a gentleman to beg or even make a request, he was going to try to… what? Sleep it off?

Not acceptable.

Bella rolled over and looked into his beautiful face. He looked back at her, seeming to be absolutely content. How could she have gotten so lucky? His eyes fell shut as she caressed his cheekbones and lips, then let her hands roam across his perfect chest and down his muscular back as she dropped light kisses on his lips and cheeks. She slid one leg up over his hip, feeling his arousal against her and bucking up into him. His eyes tightened as he fought for self control.

Bella decided that self control was unnecessary tonight.

She moved away from him and pressed him back against the bed, moving over him and hooking her fingers under the waistband of his boxers.

"Bella, I…" but she stopped his words with her mouth. She kissed him feverishly, willing him to feel her passion and devotion and dedication and want. She kissed down to the strong line of his jaw, down his throat to his chest, tasting and teasing as she went. His hands buried themselves in her hair, seeming to both urge her to continue and to restrain her.

She followed the path she'd wanted to take for so long now, his moans growing louder and his breathing quicker. She slowed down the closer she got to her destination, letting her breasts rest on his arousal, writhing slowly and savoring the feeling of his skin on hers.

Suddenly, Edward sat up and Bella felt an instant sense of loss. His self control was back.

But instead of a protest, she was surprised to hear him say, "I want to watch you, love."

Bella slid back up him to kiss him greedily, and then returned to where she'd wanted to be for so long. He was more than ready for her, already glistening and twitching in anticipation.

She let herself taste him, this very essence of Edward, and slipped him into her mouth. His groans and sighs were all she needed to know that she was doing this properly. She lost all sense of time, all sense of urgency and gave herself up the sensual, wet slide of velvety hardness in her mouth. This was the closest she had been to him -- this act of utter intimacy. She had never done this before and it was as much a part of her virginity given to Edward as anything else she could offer in the future.

The taste and feel of him was like nothing else she'd ever experienced. She never wanted to stop.

Soon, too soon, she realized that Edward was calling her name urgently and pulling at her hair to still her. She released him and looked at him questioningly.

"Too much, love. Too damn good. I'm not ready to be done yet." He was gasping for breath and his eyes were wide, a crooked grin stretched across his face. He sat up and grabbed her, pulling him to her roughly. This very moment was one of their most erotic so far: both naked, pressed against each other, both at the end of their restraint. He was hard against her, straining in need and she was on fire, burning with want. She yearned to experience that sense of perfect fit; she didn't want to wait any longer.

"Please, Edward. Make love to me. Now."

"Soon, love. I will have you. But there is something else I want first," he murmured, rolling her over and fastening his mouth on her flesh again. He suckled at her breasts, reveling in the softness and weight of them in his mouth and hands. She began to writhe below him again, trying to find a way to appease the almost painful ache she felt.

Still nuzzling and kissing her breasts, he let his hands slide down her stomach to her thighs, pushing them wide apart and settling himself in the space between her legs. The space made just for him. She began to beg and whimper in need the closer his body was to her. When he slipped his fingers into her, she heard herself scream in tortured pleasure. Then, she fell apart.

As she was able to regain her focus and take notice of the world around her, she saw Edward's lovely face looking at her, waiting for her full attention. He moved back up to kiss her face, sliding his hands up to her waist and pushing her into sitting position.

"Keep your eyes open, and watch. Watch me love you, Bella."

Attacking her mouth with one more deep and hungry kiss, he suddenly plunged his face between her thighs.

Nothing, _nothing_ had prepared Bella for this.

The firm-soft-wet-rough tenderness of his mouth against her was overwhelming. The stubble of his unshaven face, the softness of his tongue and lips, the scrape of his teeth, the warmth of his breath, the vibrations of his moans, the reverent whisper of her name, the pressure as he tugged and sucked and swallowed… She thought that she could die from this. There was no room in her mind to process all of the feelings, all of the sensations, all that Edward, her Edward, was doing to her. When his fingers joined his mouth, all of the sensation gathered tightly together and then fanned out to set every cell of her body on fire.

She came again and again and the sight, sound, feel, taste, movement of her… her voice as she called, cried, screamed, whimpered and moaned his name and her love again and again… She was beauty and passion incarnate. With one last deep pull of his mouth against her slick flesh and one more twist and thrust of his hand in her warmth, Edward came furiously.

Never had he felt so sated, so completely fulfilled by one woman.

Never had she felt so loved, so treasured by one man.

It might not have been sex, but they had surely just made love.


	10. I Cannot Be Without You

"_Keep your eyes open, and watch. Watch me love you, Bella."_

_Attacking her mouth with one more deep and hungry kiss, he suddenly plunged his face between her thighs._

-----

Bella was slowly pulled out of a deep sleep by the feeling of fingers running gently up and down her spine. As she awoke, she became aware of a few things all at once: first, she was sprawled on her stomach, completely naked; second, she was not alone in her bed; third, Edward Cullen's equally naked body was pressed up against hers.

"This is exactly what I had in mind when I picked out these sheets – exactly the picture I had in my head," his voice rumbled against her back as he lay sweet, soft kisses across her shoulders.

She turned her head and angled herself to look at him. "This is what I imagined when Alice showed me these sheets," she smirked.

For a long moment, they lay there kissing softly, fingers tangled in each other's hair until Edward pulled back, reached over the side of the bed and picked up a pair of pants. Bella sighed before starting to sit up and look for pants of her own. "No you don't," he chuckled. "You stay gloriously, maddeningly naked, just as you are. I just need a little help with my self control. I have plans for you, love."

As he kissed his way down her stomach, Bella sighed in contentment. Before she could edit herself, she said, "From the day I first met you, I wondered what your hair would look like against the skin of my thighs."

Edward arched one perfect eyebrow at her. "From the first day? You had sex thoughts about me from the start?"

Bella blushed madly, which made her laugh at herself. She was spread out, completely naked, her body surrounded by Edward's nearly naked body and she was blushing because she'd had sex _thoughts._

"You can't imagine the things I thought about doing to you from the very first, Bella."

"Tell me," she whispered.

"Well," he began, laying a wet, open mouthed kiss on the skin just below her navel. "Hmm… You have a freckle here, you know?" he said, stroking her skin with one finger before he sucked and pulled on her flesh with his clever lips.

"Don't get distracted. You're supposed to be talking dirty," she laughed.

"Oh, believe me, nothing can distract me this morning," he said as he bit lightly on her thigh. "First, when I touched your shoulder and said we would go to the wedding, it was because I couldn't help myself. I had to make physical contact. I really wanted to touch your hair," he said as he climbed back up her body and slid his hand into her hair. "But what I wanted to do even more, was this..." he murmured against her neck as he started to kiss and bite, rendering her utterly incoherent.

"And then, when you stumbled and I grabbed you, I nearly lost myself. I'm pretty sure that I almost did this," he said as he slid his hands around to squeeze her ass and grind her upwards into him. "I definitely wanted to do this," he grinned as he wrapped her legs around him, pulled her up to sit on his lap, and smoothed his palms over her breasts.

"I would have let you, you know, from the very start," she giggled as she leaned in to kiss his smiling mouth.

-----

Since they were alone in their apartment, Edward had declared what he called a "No Shirt Breakfast." He seemed much more interested in getting her breasts in his mouth than he was in eating real food. After they finally ate a decent amount, they settled on the couch to read. Edward stretched out and pulled Bella into him and palmed her breasts.

"Really, Edward. My breasts aren't going anywhere. You don't have to touch them constantly."

"Hmm... I don't plan on doing anything else with my hands today really," as he plumped and stroked them.

"Silly boy," she sighed as she snuggled into him.

Right in the middle of kissing her, he suddenly pulled back and looked at her with a goofy, lopsided grin. "Did I hear you right, all those months ago? Do you not lock my door when you are in the bathroom?"

"What? Where did that come from?"

"The morning after I first kissed you, you said that you never lock my door."

Bella thought about it for a minute, remembering. "You're right. I stopped locking the door after that one day you were afraid to interrupt me to see if I was in there. I was afraid I would forget again, so I just never lock it."

"To think, all this time you've been right there, wet and naked with the door unlocked and I've only seen you like that once," he said as he kissed the back of neck.

Bella started to melt into him, but then... "What? _Only once? _ When was that once?"

Edward had the good sense to look slightly ashamed. "Erm... I came home one afternoon and you had come home much earlier than normal. You were never home at that time, so I didn't even think to knock. You were in the tub with your headphones on so you never heard me. I walked out as soon as I saw you were in there, I promise."

It was Bella's turn to raise an eyebrow at Edward. "OK, well, almost as soon as I saw you in there. I might have stared just a little. There were still bubbles in the water, so I couldn't see much. It was more frustrating than anything else. I just wanted to get in the tub with you and devour you."

"Well. I'll have to return the favor some time. Though now I guess I know what you look like naked. I know where your tattoos are," she said as she pressed her lips on the ink etched into his bicep, then kissed down to the one on his wrist, and then twisted over him to kiss the other one between his shoulder blades. "But I still want to see you wet and soapy."

Their kissing and laughing was interrupted by a soft, quiet snort. Edward reflexively wrapped his hands around Bella's torso to shield her as she shied against him.

"I swear, I haven't seen anything," called Alice's voice. "Or at least nothing I'm shocked to have seen. I'm alone and my eyes are now covered. I take it everything is okay with the two of you?"

They both murmured in agreement.

"I'm glad. So... are you planning to spend the whole day in naked wantonness or will you be joining us when we go out this evening?"

Contradictory responses of _naked_ and _of course _came from Bella and Edward, making all three of them laugh.

Edward sighed, knowing that he wouldn't win against his sister and that Naked Morning was finally over. He reached over the side of the couch and grabbed Bella's shirt for her, giving one final parting squeeze to her breasts.

"I'll see you tonight, then Bella." Edward was disappointed, but also looking forward to the evening. He'd never had someone to look for on these evenings.

"What? Why? Where are you going so soon?" Bella asked.

"Garrett and Laurent are here finally. They're at Jasper's," Alice called to Edward, who nodded his head.

Alice sat next to her and explained their tradition. "Whenever Tanya's family comes and visits, we separate and have a girls only day and dinner. The guys go do... whatever they do. Then, at the end of the evening, we find each other. Trust me, you are going to like it. A lot. Edward will too. He's never had anyone to look for on these evenings."

Edward came out of his room with a backpack and grabbed up his car keys, looking at Bella wistfully. "I'm going to miss you, but I'm glad you'll get to know everyone better. They're like family to us and since I plan to keep you, I want you to get to know them. God, I can't wait to find you tonight," he breathed as he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into a hungry kiss.

"Find me? You make it sound like we're playing hide and go seek."

"Well... it sort of is. Adult hide and go seek, so to speak. But you have no idea what you are going to have to endure before I finally find you tonight. Alice went easy on you the last time she took you shopping. This time, I won't be allowed to come rescue you."

"Good lord, Edward, you make it sound like I'm going to hurt her. She'll have fun with us." Alice made shooing motions with her hands and tried with all of her tiny might to pull him away from Bella.

"When we're done tonight, I have plans for you. Ever since moving day, I've wanted to get you into the back seat of my car again. I plan on spending some quality time there with you when I find you." Alice rolled her eyes at that, but Bella couldn't manage to focus on anything other than Edward. The hunger in his eyes took her breath away. "Have fun!" he whispered as he kissed her one last time before walking out the door.

"I can't wait to get started! I'm calling the girls," squealed Alice.

Bella was scared. Very scared.

-----

Bella didn't have to shop for much after all. Alice suggested that she wear the same dress she wore to the wedding. Considering the reaction it had gotten from Edward, she was more than content to wear it again. But Alice insisted that it was time to introduce lingerie into her relationship with Edward. Bella acted slightly reluctant, but truly she was looking forward to seeing what sort of behavior it would bring out in Edward. She hoped that once she managed to get it all on, Edward would be able to figure out how to get it off.

She joined Alice, Rosalie, Kate, Irina, Carmen and Tanya at a salon for haircuts, facials and waxing. Waxing was never something she'd considered a group activity, but it did make her feel slightly better to see that everyone winced and whimpered just like she did. While they were getting their hair done, Kate gave them lessons in how to liptease.

"Take your lipstick and let your mouth just sort of fall open like you are breathing in deeply," she said demonstrating. "Slide it on slowly, but don't make eye contact. It's the public equivalent of a striptease." Looking directly at Bella she said, "This will really work on Edward. I watched him last night during dinner. He kept watching your fork as you slid it in your mouth. That boy has a major oral fixation when it comes to you."

Bella turned ten shades of red when she remembered how intensely he had watched her go down on him the night before. Alice looked at her like she was reading her mind and laughed.

"No details please. There are some things I just don't want to know about my brother!"

That afternoon, all the girls returned to Alice and Bella's apartment to sip margaritas, put on make up and gossip. Bella's relationship with Edward was the topic that seemed to hold the most interest for her new friends. Alice and Rosalie told most of the story for her, starting with the cafe and the way they'd noticed Edward staring at Bella like she was something to eat, to the wedding, the disastrous blind date (completely manufactured by Alice), and all the changes the girls had noticed in Edward.

It was strange hearing her relationship described in so much detail by other people, but also very gratifying to hear them talking about how much Edward loved her. It was something she knew already, but still, to hear someone else describing it made it just that much more real for her.

"They're perfect together. I couldn't imagine any two people more meant for each other than the two of them. Except maybe myself and Jasper. It's amazing, really. He's a fairly cautious guy when it comes to most things, but with Bella he's never hesitated." Alice laughed.

"It's true. Emmett bet Jasper that Edward would propose within the first month," Rosalie said.

Bella found that hard to believe. Edward had moved quickly, but surely he wasn't ready for that. _I am_, the thought crossed her mind before she had even thought about it. But that was preposterous. They'd only been together for three months.

"Everything has moved quickly with them, but it's never seemed to be too quickly, if that makes sense. I've never seen him so happy. I always knew that when he found the girl he wanted, he'd move… decisively. They're perfect for each other, really. You're his perfect match Bella, and if it isn't clear already, you have our blessing, whenever the time comes." Alice smiled beatifically at Bella, enjoying her blush.

Tanya looked at Bella keenly, noting her look of slight discomfort at Alice's words. "Bella," she said gently, "do you doubt yourself? I don't want to say anything out of line, but you seemed to believe so easily that Edward might want someone else. You really shouldn't, you know. We've never seen him like this about anyone. Ever. I suspect that this is permanent for him. That's one of the reasons we were eager to come meet you. To see the girl who had captured his heart so completely."

Bella blushed profusely, before confessing her doubts about being enough to keep his interest. Not feeling pretty enough. Sexy enough.

Tanya moved to sit next to Bella. "I think that I would make you blush even more if I were to describe at length how very attractive you really are. You simply need confidence. Not for him, but for you." She tossed back the last of her drink and got up to change the music to a song with an erotic, sensual feel. "Let's work on that confidence. Tonight, we'll help you see what he sees."

"Part of the fun of these hide and seek evenings is meeting up at the club," explained Rosalie. "We send them the name of a few clubs and they try to find us. Then, they watch us and we watch them. It's sort of... exciting to see how many other people have an eye on your guy, knowing that he only has his eyes on you. I think it's the same for them. You'll see, Bella. Girls flock to Edward on nights like these. You're going to have to prepare yourself for that. But he won't see them. At all. He'll only see you."

"Come dance, pretty Bella. The more comfortable you are in your own skin, the sexier you will feel. Edward won't be able to take his eyes off of you. The boys get very possessive once they find us, like we are their prey." Bella looked at Tanya questioningly. "Sometimes I get Emmett or Edward to bring along one of their friends. I don't want to forget how to flirt with men. It's quite nice being the prey on a night like this. But what you really need to do is be the predator as well. Move with me," Tanya said as she placed her hands on Bella's hips, moving her to the beat of the music.

-----

A few hours later, the girls had dressed to the nines, enjoyed a long and laughter filled dinner, and had arrived at the club taking bets on how long it would take their men to find them. Bella felt slightly out of her element, but happy nonetheless.

She was ready for Edward. She'd come to really like these girls, and wanted to spend more time with them. But the longer she was apart from Edward, the more uncomfortable she became. It was as if it grew harder and harder to breathe the longer they were apart.

The girls stayed close to each other, dancing and enjoying themselves. Guys tried to approach them, but were ignored and eventually gave up. Bella tried not to think too much about Edward, and to simply stay in the moment, but it was so hard not to obsess over when he would get there, what he would look like and exactly what he planned to do to her in the back seat of his car.

One group of guys was slightly more persistent than the others and didn't seem to take the hint. A particularly grabby one zeroed in on Bella at one point, but Tanya's snarl of _she's not interested_ scared him into keeping a fair distance.

Then suddenly every bit of Bella's skin felt like it was on fire and she began to breathe more easily than she had all night. Edward must be near. She could feel his eyes on her. Taking a deep breath, she relaxed and started to look around.

"No, don't look," Tanya warned. "Just dance for awhile. Remember, you aren't just the prey tonight."

Bella closed her eyes and gave herself over to the music. Memories of Edward's lips and hands on her body made her feel alive and desirable. Knowing he was watching made her feel powerful. When the song changed, she opened her eyes again and looked around.

Emmett and Garrett had already claimed their girls and were dancing closely to them, oblivious to anyone else. Jasper was standing just a few yards away from Alice, dancing and watching, clearly waiting for some sort of signal to approach.

She looked up to the balcony and saw Edward with a man she knew as Laurent from a picture she had seen that afternoon. Between the two men was one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen. For just a moment, her heart started to sink from a resurgence of inadequacy. But neither man spent any time looking at the woman, and she never looked at them. Bella followed her gaze to Tanya, who was still dancing next to Bella.

As soon as Edward realized he'd been spotted, his face took on a look of cocky expectation. He sat back in his chair, stretched his legs out in front of him, set aside his drink, and beckoned to Bella.

Bella smiled slowly and shook her head and gave herself over to the music again, never once breaking eye contact with Edward.

By the end of the song, Laurent and the other woman had left the table. Edward was finishing his drink, mesmerized watching Bella dance. She was clearly enjoying herself, and knew that he was, too. What she didn't seem to realize was how many other people were equally enjoying watching her. Bella in that dress was more sensually potent than any other totally naked woman he'd ever seen.

Bella watched as girl after girl walked up to try to flirt with Edward, only to leave frustrated by his lack of response.

Edward watched as guy after guy tried to get Bella to dance with them, only to see her shake her head and twist slightly away from their grasp.

The song changed to one he hadn't heard in years. The song had a rhythm that was slow and dark and erotic and every cell in his body demanded that he make contact with Bella. He stood up and walked around to the stairs, keeping an eye on Bella the whole time.

He stepped into her line of vision, remaining on the periphery of the crowd, watching. He wound his way through the writhing bodies, eyes locked on Bella, stalking her.

Every part of her body was painfully aware of the pull she felt towards Edward. She needed him now, but was determined to wait for him to come to her. He stepped in front of her, not touching, only looking down and watching. His eyes roamed slowly over her body, focusing on her breasts, then her hips. He walked around behind her, still not touching. Bella thought she might combust.

Without warning, she was pulled roughly back against him, one of his hands on her shoulder, his fingers stroking her throat; the other hand on her hip and sliding down to the juncture between her hip and thigh.

"Fuck, Bella. You're killing me," he panted in her ear. She danced against him for a few minutes, loving the press of his body against her own, electrified by the feel of his roaming hands and lips, reveling in the hardness she felt growing behind her.

His hands returned to her hips and slowly turned her around so she was facing him. She was soft and firm and warm and pliant and seductive and everything he needed.

Edward's body in contact with hers was everything she needed to feel complete. He was hard and supple and fragrant and virile and home.

-----

Tanya watched as Edward slowly led Bella out of the press on the crowded dance floor and into a darkened corner of the club. Edward, even as a beginner, had been an intense lover. He had focus and endurance and a gentle ferocity that took a girl's breath away. Learning with him had been a keen pleasure, but the whole time, Tanya had known that he was not intended for her.

Now, watching Edward and Bella together, it was clear that the two of them were fated for each other. Bella was a virgin, yes, but tonight she was anything but _virginal_ and Tanya sensed that Edward was very near the limit of his self control. Fortunately for the two of them, Edward could maintain his balance at that point. Bella was lucky – she'd never find herself pushed beyond what she was ready to give.

The rest of the group of family and friends was also focused on the couple barely visible in the shadows, surprised at what they saw. Edward was the consummate gentleman, reserved to the point of coldness at times. Not a prude, but never the kind to display his lust in public. But tonight…

Bella's dress had ridden up to the middle of her thigh and Edward's hand seemed to have…

"Oh my god, he's feeling her up in the club! Jasper, pay up!" yelled an exuberant Emmett.

"No, Edward would never do… Oh my…" Rosalie trailed off as Bella's face contorted in pleasured agony, before she buried her face in his chest. Edward brought his hand up and sucked on his fingers.

"Wow. How much has he had to drink?" asked Jasper.

"Just the one," murmured an equally surprised Laurent.

The group sat in stunned silence, unmoving as they watched Edward begin to feast on Bella's neck and run his hands down the front of her dress, grabbing and squeezing at her breasts.

In public.

Alice cleared her throat lightly. "You wouldn't think anything of it if it was Jasper and me, and you've all seen Emmett and Rosalie do a whole lot more in public. It's a club, after all. He probably thinks no one can see them. Bella will be mortified if she sees everyone watching."

They all tried to go back to dancing, but couldn't help but keep an eye on the couple in the corner. Eventually, Bella led Edward back to the dance floor and they rejoined the group. Edward still didn't seem to see anyone but Bella.

When the song changed, he pulled her against him again and started to kiss her neck in hot, wet, open mouthed kisses as his hands slid across her hips and ass and thighs. "We're leaving. Now," he growled.

"Edward, no one else is leaving. Shouldn't we wait a bit? You don't want to leave your friends, do you?" asked Bella with a very straight face.

"Please, Bella, please," he whimpered. "I need you."

She pulled back to look at him. His eyes were clouded with lust and he seemed to be out of breath. The lust she expected, but the love that was there in his eyes was overwhelming. She felt as if she were standing at the edge of some sort of major life decision. Could she leave with him now and not end up in bed with him? Not just in bed, since they had been there before, but completely giving herself to him?

Probably not.

Whether or not they ended up married, he would always be the one she remembered as her first. Forever. Did she trust him with that?

Yes, she did. _Absolutely._

She lifted her hands to his cheeks to stroke the soft skin and the stubble, to run her fingers across his lips and into his hair. Pausing for one short moment, she pulled his head down and whispered in his ear, "Yes, Edward." Then she pulled back to look in his eyes again as she smiled. _Yes._

He grinned in response. "Time for the backseat of my car. I've been waiting for this."

"No, not the backseat. Not this time. Take me home, Edward. I need you."

It took him a moment to process what her words meant. He was too afraid to hope, very afraid that he was misunderstanding.

"Bella, I… you don't have to… I mean," he stuttered.

"Of course I don't have to, silly boy. Please. I love you. Please."

"Oh, Bella," he sighed as he looked at her. His look of worry was soon replaced by a look of absolute contentment. He bent down to kiss her lips softly, reverently. "I adore you."

Then he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the club quickly, barely stopping to acknowledge their friends. He turned back as he almost passed the group and grabbed Alice by the arm. "Please, don't come home tonight," he whispered in her ear.

"Fifty bucks says he proposes next week," laughed Emmett.

"One hundred it's tonight," replied Tanya.

"I'm betting with Tanya on this," said Alice with absolute confidence.


	11. Chapter 11: Everlong

From Chapter 10:

"_Please, Bella, please," he whimpered. "I need you."_

_She pulled back to look at him. His eyes were clouded with lust and he seemed to be out of breath. The lust she expected, but the love that was there in his eyes was overwhelming. She felt as if she were standing at the edge of some sort of major life decision. Could she leave with him now and not end up in bed with him? Not just in bed, since they had been there before, but completely giving herself to him?_

_Probably not._

_Whether or not they ended up married, he would always be the one she remembered as her first. Forever. Did she trust him with that?_

_Yes, she did. Absolutely._

_She lifted her hands to his cheeks to stroke the soft skin and the stubble, to run her fingers across his lips and into his hair. Pausing for one short moment, she pulled his head down and whispered in his ear, "Yes, Edward." Then she pulled back to look in his eyes again as she smiled. Yes._

-----

Edward pulled Bella out of the club as quickly as she could manage to go without stumbling. What he wanted to do was to sling her over his shoulder and carry her out, or perhaps be a little more tender and scoop her up bridal style. Anything to get her to the car faster. But he was afraid that would be too caveman of him.

"Damn… Alice… Shoes," Bella grumbled.

Edward looked at her questioningly. "I can't go faster in these shoes. And I really, really want to get there faster," she said as she stumbled slightly.

With that, Edward scooped her up in his arms and held her to his chest laying soft kisses on her face and neck.

"Much better," she sighed contentedly.

He slowed down as they reached his car, torn between wanting to lay her down in the back seat for some heavy petting or buckling her in before speeding home madly. Or maybe buckling her in and getting started on the heavy petting while he was driving.

Bella settled it for him when she bit lightly on his earlobe and whispered, "I can't wait for us to get home." Home it would be, then.

But as soon as he slid into his seat, she was on his lap, wrapping herself around him. "I thought you wanted to get home first," he gasped as she went straight for his zipper and wrapped her warm hand around his hardness.

"No, I said I can't wait. I don't want to wait."

They kissed and tasted and groped furiously until the sounds of persistent tapping and throat clearing got their attention. Edward looked up into the very annoyed face of the parking attendant who mouthed _Get. A. Room. _Edward reluctantly removed his left hand from its current position down the front of Bella's dress and his right hand from between her thighs while she tucked him back inside his boxers and zipped him up before kissing him soundly one more time then moving back into the passenger seat.

The drive back was tense with anticipation, both of them thinking about exactly what they were going to do when they got home and how far things would go.

_Be patient, be patient._ Edward kept up his mantra in his head, trying to keep himself from scaring her off with his eagerness. He wanted her so badly that he thought he might combust with need, but there was no way he was going to put their relationship in danger by making any demands or putting on any pressure. He thought she'd implied that she was ready, but he was afraid to take it for granted.

He'd grown up with parents very much in love and wasn't scared of commitment. He was ready -- he wanted Bella forever. There was no doubt in his mind that she was the one for him, and if she didn't want him that way, he would either wait for her to change her mind or... no. No _or_ was possible, he would just wait. Was it too soon for her? If he lost his self control and blurted out a proposal some day soon, would she run away in fear?

_Be patient_, he reminded himself.

Bella had finally gotten her breathing under control, but the distinct smells of Edward and sex in the car was not helping her get herself focused. She was ready. Very, very ready. She wasn't even afraid of the pain, like she thought maybe she should be. With all of the injuries she'd sustained over the years, she'd gotten used to a certain level of pain. If anything was worth hurting over, this certainly was. She actually, sort of… looked forward to it in a strange way. It was a tangible reminder of what they would be doing, what she was giving.

She glanced at Edward's profile in the dim light of the car, marveling at how lucky she was. He was amazing in so many ways. Even more amazing was the fact that he was hers. She was finally sure of it. God, she wanted him, all of him. Always. Why was it taking so long to get home? Now that she'd finally made her decision, she was eager to get started.

Finally.

"I love you," she breathed as she let her head fall back against the seat and turned to look at him again, overcome with lust and love and longing for him.

Edward smiled as he turned to look at her. He swallowed hard when he saw the way she looked at him. She was breathing quickly, her lip between her teeth, an equal mix of love and lust clear on her face. Before he knew what he was doing, he had pulled the car over to the side of the road and grabbed her face between his hands and was kissing her deeply.

"Oh Bella," he sighed, "I can't wait to marry you, love. I adore you."

_Shit! Shit, shit, shit_, he panicked. _I can't believe I just said that out loud. That's not what I meant to say! Or at least not out loud. I've ruined…_

"Bella Cullen sounds lovely, don't you think?" she said dreamily.

_Well. _

_All right then_, he thought.

"It does," he said, figuring that he looked like a lovesick fool, but not caring at all.

"Take me home, Edward. I need you," she said, fighting off an equally goofy smile. _Had he just... proposed? It wasn't actually a proposal, was it?_

Edward put the car in gear and drove on, his hand leaving the gear shift to stroke Bella's thigh. _Did I just propose?_ he thought. _Will that count? If I did, was that her way of saying yes?_

Any worry he had was cut off as he pulled into his parking space and walked around to get Bella's door. He suddenly felt oddly shy. Almost virginal, unsure of how to move forward.

They didn't manage any words on the way into the building and in the elevator. They weren't uncomfortable, but the frantic need of earlier had been replaced by a serious calm.

Edward unlocked the door, and they both stood in the entry way, taking off their coats and slipping off shoes. Bella leaned up for a kiss before slipping away to use the bathroom.

Edward wasn't sure where to go – his room or her room? Follow her into the bathroom? Get drinks from the kitchen? Light candles? Put on music? _What the hell do I do now?_

Bella stood in the bathroom trying to figure out what to do. Brush her teeth? Take off her dress or leave it on? Go out to meet him or wait for him to join her there? Take a bath? Find something lacy to wear? _This is far more complicated than it should be._

Edward stood by his door to the bathroom, his palm flat against the door, wishing he could read her mind. He eventually took off his pants and shirt, setting them aside. He pulled down the covers on his bed and turned on one of the smaller lamps. He chose a mellow jazz playlist that Bella was fond of and turned on some music. He took a deep breath and reminded himself to be patient and go slowly. Finally, he opened the door a bit, calling her name as he did.

Bella turned to look at him, a light blush painted across her cheeks. "I... I don't know what to do next," she confessed.

"Come here, love."

Edward didn't give her time to move, choosing instead to walk towards her and caress her cheeks, feeling the warmth of her blush. "Beautiful."

"I love you, Edward," she whispered.

Something about the love and trust she put into her tone of voice made him get carried away again. "I meant it, you know. I want to marry you, Bella. I know I might have said it too early, but I don't regret saying it. When you're ready, I'll ask you properly."

Bella ran her fingers down his chest, then closed her eyes and breathed deeply. When she opened her eyes, she smiled and said, "I'll be ready whenever you ask."

Edward's smile stretched across his face as he laughed. "You really shouldn't have said that. What if I chose to ask you right now?" Bella shrugged and smiled back.

His smile slowly faded as he looked even more intensely at her. She just raised one eyebrow and smiled some more.

He grabbed her and pulled her against him hard, nearly devouring her mouth in his eagerness. "Marry me, then. I promise to love you forever — every single day of forever."

His face was so happy and sincere at that moment that it took her breath away. She gasped involuntarily and then nodded, fighting the sudden urge to cry and laugh and melt all at once. "Yes," she all but shouted. She stretched up to kiss him, once again saying yes as their lips met.

Edward slowly unzipped her dress, stepping back to look at her as it fell from her shoulders. He touched his fingertips to her lips and then slowly slid his hands up and down her skin, lingering in his favorite places. When she was finally naked, he took her all in, pressing his lips to hers again.

Bella slid his boxers off, taking her time to enjoy his body as he had enjoyed hers. She was suddenly desperate with impatience and a sudden, overwhelming hunger to have him inside of her.

Now.

They slowly began to lose themselves in a haze of lips and hands and skin and tastes and breaths sighs and breathlessness. He kissed his way down her body, touching and nibbling every bit of skin displayed before him, making her weak with pleasure. Then suddenly she was working her way around his body as he lay suspended in ecstasy at the feel of her mouth and tongue and hands and teeth everywhere.

It could have been minutes or hours that they kissed and touched, then suddenly Edward lay hovering over her, poised and ready.

Every cliché from every movie or novel suddenly seemed true.

He didn't want to hurt her.

She was slightly afraid of being hurt.

He became desperately afraid that he would plow into her with no regard for her comfort, completely overcome by the pleasure of suddenly being inside of this girl he loved so much.

She started to worry that maybe she might not be enough, might not be as good as what he'd had before.

But then, just as quickly, it simply didn't matter. They each managed to say just what the other one needed to hear.

"You are perfect. I've never wanted anything as much as I want you right now, Bella," Edward said as he slid down between her thighs to kiss and worship and relax her as much as possible.

"I know it's going to hurt, Edward. I'm not afraid. Don't go slow, just do it. I want this. I want you. So much..." she said as her back arched and she moaned quietly.

He brought her to the edge of her climax and kept her there, prolonging it simply for the pleasure of watching her gasp and whimper and whisper out his name like a prayer. Then he sent her over the edge, coming back up to carress her face and lift her hands up beside her head.

"I love you, Bella," he breathed as he pushed himself inside of her in one slow, firm stroke.

Her hands flew up to touch his cheeks as she reacted to the pain as she gasped and stiffened and her eyes opened wide to meet his gaze.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his brow furrowed with concern. He held his body absolutely still, waiting for her reaction. He hated that he had hurt her. Yet, part of him was absolutely overjoyed that he was first. And not just first – _only_.

She closed her eyes for a moment, embracing the pain and letting it wash over her. It was like nothing she had ever felt, and knew she'd never feel it again. _Amazing._

She became aware of the new feeling of Edward inside of her. She was overcome by a feeling that she could only describe as feral. Possessive. She was not his first, but she would be his only, from now on. _Mine._

With that simple thought, her body relaxed. Her hands left his cheeks to fist in his hair and she pulled him in for a kiss. "Amazing," she whispered as she moved slightly under him.

Edward was determined to take his time with her. He thrust inside of her slowly and deeply, reveling in the perfect fit of their bodies. With each stroke, the sounds she made nearly undid him. Every whimper and moan and whispered word was the best thing he had ever heard, each better than the last. He wanted to learn every sound that she could make and figure out what to do to make her whimper and beg and moan like that again.

Bella thought she had memorized all of Edward's expressions and sounds. But his face as he focused on loving her, his groans and words of love were all so utterly beautiful and painfully erotic that she realized that up to now she had only known a small part of him. This was Edward – his essence. He was the most amazing lover she could ever have imagined. She had known he would be, but hadn't been prepared for how it would make her feel. She felt herself coming apart and she had no desire to keep herself together.

She cried out, loudly unsure of what she was saying. All she could manage to think of at the moment was _Edward and love and oh more and too much and Edward..._

He slowed himself as she peaked, proud and happy and relieved and anxious all at once. He had made her feel like that, which was a boon to his masculine pride. He was happy and relieved that they were finally doing this, finally making love after a wait that seemed like forever. Anxious because he was suddenly very afraid that she might be disappointed in her first time. That he could not bear.

She opened her eyes, sweaty and out of breath and overwhelmed and content beyond anything she could have imagined. "Edward," she managed as she tried to catch her breath. "You... oh God. I didn't imagine... I mean it was all just so much more than... Edward..." she sighed. "Perfect."

He laughed in relief as he rolled her over, so she was on top. "Nothing could ever feel as good as you feel, Bella. I think I'm going to keep you permanently naked and in bed. That won't be a problem for you, will it?"

She sat up, intending to make a joke and then go get a drink of water before continuing their activities. But her position caused Edward to hit a place inside of her that made her eyes to roll back in pleasure and she rocked against him by instinct.

"Hmmm... did you just realize that I'm not nearly done with you, love?" he laughed.

_Nngghh_, was her eloquent reply.

Edward continued to press into her while guiding her hips with his strong hands. Bella looked down at him only to see that his eyes were fixed on her breasts as they bounced while she moved above him. She could see the effort he was using to hold himself back, to wait on her. That alone was almost enough to finish her, but then he switched her angle just a bit and they both moaned in absolute ecstasy.

She tightened around him, crying his name as he pushed up into her again. He found her hands and she grasped his tightly.

"Open your eyes, Bella. Please," he said, his voice hoarse.

They locked eyes, not needing words to express what they felt. As he spilt inside of her, they both felt a sense of utter completion.

"I love you," they said simultaneously, smiling at the ridiculous joy that those simple words, spoken so naturally in their intimacy, brought to them.

"You'll really marry me?" he asked as he held her close, breathing her in.

"Of course."

"You're not afraid?"

"No, I'm not. I thought I might be, but... no. Not at all."

He gazed at her for a bit before asking, "Why not?"

She smiled for a moment, before running her hands through his hair. "Because you're Edward Cullen."

Then she tackled him. "Again."


	12. Chapter 12: I'll Be Coming Home

A/N: I'm so sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out. I fully intend to finish this story. I just lost my writing mojo for awhile due to real life. No big crisis, just the grind of the every day. Thanks for sticking around. I won't quit this story, but I also don't want to just post something that's crap quality just to get something posted. I've tried a few versions of this chapter and this is the one that I'm happiest with. Thanks in advance to those of you who review.

---

Short work weeks were the best part of any holiday. Things were wrapping up as they headed into the end of the semester, so her classes were not too busy. But she was bogged down in the last bits of research for her thesis, and she knew that the enormity of what she had to accomplish in a few short months would weigh heavily on her at the Christmas holidays. For now, though, she was going to focus on Edward and her family as Thanksgiving came closer.

She and Edward had come so far in so short a time, going from strangers to lovers to (gulp) being engaged. It felt right, though. Everything with Edward felt right.

She'd met Carlisle and Esme once before when they had come into the city to attend a fundraiser of some sort. Alice had insisted that Bella come along to the spa with her and Esme. At the time, Bella and Edward had just started dating or making out (whatever it was) and Bella was leery of being introduced as Edward's girlfriend. Alice refrained from using that specific word with her parents, but the way that she made the introduction was not much better. "This is Edward's... Bella," was what she had said.

Bella had no doubt that both Carlisle and Esme knew what was going on.

This weekend, though, was the first time they would be together with their families as boyfriend/girlfriend, or actually, Bella realized, as an engaged couple. She wondered how Charlie and Renee would handle this, since it was coming on the heels of her broken engagement to Tyler. When she spoke to them on the phone, she had the sense that they were refraining from making any judgements but that when they had opinions, they would not hold back in sharing them.

Renee had invited Carlisle and Esme to have dinner with them the night before Thanksgiving, since Edward's family was hosting Tanya and Irina and the whole group from Denali for a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Bella would be joining them on Thanksgiving day and the day after, and Edward would be coming back to Bella's family's house for Saturday and Sunday. Fortunately, the two families only lived about 20 minutes apart.

Twenty minutes.

That meant that Bella and Edward had grown up fairly close to each other, attended rival high schools, but never met. It had taken college, a broken engagement and a chance meeting via an apartment for rent advertisement to bring them together.

Fate.

Bella desperately hoped that their families approved and got along, because at this point, nothing would tear her away from Edward.

-----

As they sped down the last few miles before reaching Bella's house, Edward's hands tightened on the wheel. "You're sure that he takes the bullets out of his gun when he comes inside?"

Bella smiled. "He might be cleaning it when you arrive, but don't worry. It will all be for show. It's Renee and her sneaky questions you have to be aware of. She'll have you confessing things you never thought you would admit to."

"Great," Edward sighed. At least Bella had met his parents once already. She had nothing to worry about with them. But Edward knew that he had a lot to prove to her parents. He had to prove he was fully aware of Bella's value and would never cheat on and hurt her like Tyler had. He had to prove that he was reliable (and being an artist was not necessarily ranked high on a parental scale of approval). He had put some work into his appearance, getting a haircut, shaving and letting Alice pick out his clothes for the weekend. He hoped it would work. Nothing would keep him from Bella, but he'd much rather have her parents' approval than not.

It started raining (of course) just as they pulled up to Bella's house, which made the welcomes more about getting everything out of the car as quickly as possible and then drying off as much as possible. Edward shook hands (firm grip, eye contact) and before it could get awkward, his parents arrived.

"Charlie!" his dad laughed, walking forward to shake hands with Bella's dad.

"Dr. Carlisle Cullen! I should have put the names together. How've you been?"

"You know each other?" Bella asked.

"We met a few weeks ago. Strange, strange case," laughed Carlisle.

"Was that the one with the handcuffs?" asked Renee.

Charlie and Carlisle told Bella and Edward about meeting in the E.R. when an arguing couple had come in, needing both medical attention and law enforcement. She wanted to leave him, but he didn't want to let her go. He handcuffed himself to her and swallowed the key. She got so angry that she hit him with either a candlestick or a frying pan (neither could agree on exactly what happened but it was clearly something heavy and hard). That assault had made him so angry that he put her very expensive exotic fish down the drain and ran the garbage disposal, so she wanted him booked for murder or animal cruelty.

In short, he needed stitches and a laxative so the keys could be... retrieved. She was going to be cited for assault, he for damage to property and for whatever else her high priced lawyer could come up with.

Carlisle smiled at Bella. "The laxative took awhile, so Charlie mentioned your story briefly."

Bella looked appalled.

"No, it was because Jessica was the nurse on duty. After hearing your story, I let her be the one who... retrieved the key after the laxative worked."

Charlie grinned. "Come on Carlisle, game's on."

Edward stood next to Bella, trying not to laugh too hard. "Hmm.. that went well enough. At least our dads like each other. Where are our mothers?"

Bella sighed. "In the kitchen. The dads were the easy part. You can join them if you want. I'll take the moms."

"I'll start with you in there until they kick me out so they can get all the dirty details of our relationship from you."

"Lovely. Already planning your escape," laughed Bella.

Just before they reached the kitchen, Edward pulled Bella towards him and pressed her against the wall. He smoothed her hair back and smiled at her. "Don't worry. It will work out. We're meant to be, Bella." He kissed her throat, her jaw, her cheek, waiting for her to relax. When she finally did, he pressed a hot, happy kiss to her lips. "I adore you."

Light giggles from behind them made him close his eyes and sigh and Bella light up with a scarlet flush.

"Moms. Can we help you in the kitchen?" he asked.

"We stepped out of the kitchen because it was getting hot in there, but it's hotter out here," Esme said.

"Don't let your Dad see that Bella. He might have to get out his gun and fake cleaning it out," called Renee.

"Edward," whined Bella, "they're ganging up on us."

"At least Alice isn't here to make it worse."

"Next time," promised Esme. "We want all the sordid details of how you two got together and what you get up to."

---

Dinner went very well. The male end of the table centered around sport talk, fishing stories and stories about medical disasters and crazy criminals. The female end of the table seemed to be revolving around Harry Potter talk.

Bella had gotten Renee to read Harry Potter shortly after Prisoner of Azkaban had been published. Renee had thrown herself into the fandom with the full fervor of a devotee. She had gotten into writing fanfiction, memorizing canon trivia, and participating in forum discussions. After a few years, she had become a moderator (or Auror, as she corrected Bella) on her favorite Harry Potter website "Honestly!Ronald."

It seemed that Esme was familiar with the website as well and also was an Auror. After a few minutes of discussion, both Renee and Esme discovered that they had actually known each other in cyberspace for a few years. Renee was _charliesgrl_ and Esme was _needs_a_house_elf_ and they had been commenting on each other's forum entries and personal blogs for two or three years. They had actually tossed around the idea of getting their son and daughter set up on a blind date, but had let it go when both had found someone. It delighted them both to know that Bella and Edward had gotten together on their own.

By the time that they had taken most of the dishes to the table and come back with pies for dessert, they had decided to co-write an epic Alternate Universe fanfiction story. They would merge both of their names to make the new pen name of "Reneesme," which they thought was very clever and cute.

"Reneesme? The two of you will certainly not be able to name our baby," laughed Edward.

_Oh no. Oh no, no, no..._ thought Bella. _He did not just say that_.

"Baby," said Charlie, all traces of teasing and joking gone from his face. "Is there something you need to tell us about, young man?"

---

Emmett, Jasper and Alice and the whole Denali clan roared with laughter as Bella told them about Edward's stuttering bout of panic as he'd tried to dig himself out of the hole he'd dug at dessert with her family.

"He swore I couldn't be pregnant because he would never be so careless. But then he realized that he'd practically admitted to having sex with me, which wasn't going to help him get out of trouble at all. So he tried to redeem himself by swearing that he loved me and completely respected me, but that didn't make my dad look any happier. Renee just sat there with an eyebrow raised and her face passive while Carlisle and Esme laughed into their napkins. He finally ended up yelling that he had proposed, I had accepted, he was going to get his grandmother's ring this weekend and make an 'honest woman' of me as soon as I would agree to it. By that time, all four of the parents were laughing so hard they were almost crying, but Edward couldn't look anyone in the eye."

"What did you do? Poor Edward," sympathized Tanya.

"I scolded them for making him so uncomfortable and took him up to my old bedroom so we could 'talk' and I could... relieve his tension. But he wouldn't touch me. He just kept mumbling 'leave the door open... not in your house... leave the door open...' and finally went back downstairs to wash up the rest of the dishes alone. Then he got this look of determination on his face and went and asked my dad's permission to marry me. It worked out. They love him."

"Of course they do," said Rosalie. "My parents love Emmett now. But they didn't always."

"Oh please, not that story," grumbled Emmett.

"The first time Emmett met my dad was after our first date and my dad had come out to see why there was a strange car parked in front of our house. At the time, Emmett had his hand up my skirt and was busy leaving a huge hickey on my boob. My dad went ballistic until my mom reminded me that the two of them had been caught by my very feisty grandmother when my dad was climbing in my mom's bedroom window. They got married very, very soon after that. Now he and Emmett just pretend like all of that never happened and our babies will be immaculately conceived and everyone is happy."

At bedtime that night, Bella was attacked by a very eager Edward and suddenly had the urge to yell _leave the door open, not in your parents' house_ just like he had the day before. "What if they hear?" she'd protested, trying to squirm away while sighing as his hands slipped under her shirt and tweaked her nipples. "Edward... not now. Not here." Her nipples were very unhappy with her decision.

"Believe me, my parents won't care. They know we love each other. It's enough for them. You saw them. They're... affectionate with each other. With all of the couples in this house tonight, no one will be able to tell if it's us or someone else making noise. They don't expect us to hold back. I'm sure your mom doesn't either. Your dad may be like Emmett's though..." he trailed off as he wrapped his lips around a breast.

"Edward..." she sighed contentedly.

His hands were doing magical, wicked things that chased away every bit of resistance for awhile. "No. Come on. Just lay back. This we can do quietly," she whispered as she licked her way up his cock. Edward groaned and fell back on his bed.

After a bit, though, he started begging. "Please, Bella. I need to taste you. Turn around," he murmured as he gripped her hips and drew her back against his mouth. This... it was indescribable. To have him in her mouth, tasting and feeling him while his mouth was hot on her and his teeth scraped over her clit... it was heaven. When he slid his fingers into her, she tightened her mouth around him sucking wildly as they both came. Heaven.

Surely that would keep him quiet for the night, wouldn't it? she thought as she fell asleep against his chest.

Apparently not.

She woke up some time in the night, while it was still dark, laying on her stomach and fully aware of the feeling of Edward's extremely hard cock nestled against her ass while he left hot, wet, open mouth kisses on her spine. "Bella, I need you. You were talking in your sleep again. How can I sleep while you're begging me to fuck you?" he groaned.

She didn't need to answer, instead opting to open her thighs wider and lifting herself up to meet his cock. "Fuck me, Edward. Now." Heaven again.

The next morning, she woke up to the sound of the shower running in Edward's bathroom. She went in intending to brush her teeth, but the sight of him unshaven (yeay!) and wet and soapy (sigh!) made her extremely eager to shower right then. She slipped in behind him and palmed his ass while pressing herself against him. He was more than ready for her, turning her and bending her over and pressing her palms against the seat in the shower, while holding her hips in place as he plowed into her. He also forgot to be quiet, which made her cringe for a moment until he hit just the right spot deep inside of her and she forgot everything but the feel of him on her, in her, all over her. Nothing but Edward existed at that moment.

-----

When they eventually made it down to breakfast, they were content and hungry. Esme smiled at them while Alice made a few suggestive remarks about the hot water running out. Edward made a comment about conserving water by taking showers together. Esme suggested that Edward and Bella look for a house that had shower with two shower heads and a bench, saying how much she and Carlisle liked theirs. Alice and Edward shuddered a bit and changed the subject quickly.

The rest of the weekend was much the same. The sex while they were at Edward's house was wild and frequent, but at Bella's house, he kept a good six inches of distance between them when Charlie was looking or anywhere within earshot. When she could, Bella would press Edward up against a wall and molest him, ignoring his protests and telling him to relax and that Renee wouldn't let Charlie do anything.

On their last morning there, before going back to the city, they went for a walk in Bella's neighborhood. Bella was eager to get Edward out of the house since he was acting even more uncomfortable than normal. When it got too cold to stay out, they went back to her house, sitting on the porch out of the wind for a few minutes. Just as Bella suggested that they go inside and finish packing up, Edward squared his shoulders, grabbed her face and kissed her hard. Then he got to his knees in front of her, fishing a ring out of his jeans pocket.

"I want to do this properly. I promise to love you every day of forever. Marry me, Bella."

The sound of a squeal from just inside the front door startled them both. "He did it, Esme! He finally did it," said Renee's muffled voice.

"I'm not sure, but I think we should be slightly frightened that our parents get along this well," Bella grumbled.


	13. Chapter 13: Nursing Patience

If anyone had told Edward and Bella that they would be spending the month after their engagement celibate and frustrated, they never would have believed it. But Circumstance was a bitch and they went from barely being able to keep their hands off each other to frustrated in a few days flat.

The worst case of intestinal flu any of them had ever had started making the rounds of their group. It started with Emmett, who they caught coming out of their bathroom with four rolls of toilet paper under each arm, looking sheepish and muttering about their place being closer than the supermarket. Rose was down not long after that, followed by Alice and Jasper who holed up in her room being tended to by Bella who'd had her flu shot and wasn't worried about getting sick.

Edward stayed as far away from them as possible, and was sheepishly apologetic to Bella about keeping his distance from her and any germs she might be vicariously spreading. He had deadlines for his work and couldn't afford to be sick.

That was their first three days of being celibate.

Then Edward got sick, so sick that Alice actually threatened to call Esme or Carlisle to check up on him. Bella was scared as his fever climbed and he got weaker and weaker. He was usually so strong and in control of himself, and seeing him incoherent and in pain was horrible. Eventually, though, his fever broke and he recovered. He was fatigued and shaky for quite awhile afterwards, suffering from a slight relapse, and that added on another six days of celibacy.

Nine days was more than enough for both of them. Alice went to Jasper's, Emmett had been instructed not to come raid their house for anything he should be buying at the store anyway, Edward planned dinner and Bella put on his favorite dress. Everything was perfect, from the candles to the soft music to the food. It was so good to be just them, to be romantic, to be together.

"Bella, I've missed you. You feel so soft, so right in my arms…" Edward whispered as he ran his nose down her neck.

Bella shivered in response, and felt a jolt of cold heat shoot through her. She was dizzy and felt like she shouldn't have eaten so much. Clearly, she was overwhelmed with need and lust.

Or not.

Apparently, the flu shot had been tested and found wanting as Bella bolted from Edward's arms and into the bathroom. She chased him away, preferring to handle this on her own, but he was persistent and insisted on helping her get ready for bed and looking after her while she was ill. That added another four days to their celibacy, giving them a nice round thirteen days of deprivation.

On the day that Bella finally felt better (lucky day number thirteen), a tug and cramping low in her belly left her even more frustrated. Just what she needed. She really didn't enjoy sex while she had her period, especially one as bad as this. So that was another six days, as it seemed to stretch on longer than it ever had. Normally, her period would just make them be creative about their intimacy, but their schedules were simply ridiculous at the time. Edward was going back and forth to his parents' house with Alice to help them prepare for the hospital's winter fund raiser. This meant a few overnights there as Alice worked on the program and Edward on the graphic presentation and all of the written materials for the charity event. Bella was too busy to go with them as she was wrapping up the semester by writing her own papers and grading those of her students. She stayed up late and got up early, he was away or occupied with his computer or drawing pencils.

They didn't just go without sex for nineteen days, which was nearly intolerable; they didn't have a lot of each other's company for nineteen days, which was unbearable.

On the morning of the nineteenth day, Bella woke up and heard Edward banging around in the kitchen. When she made her way out into the kitchen, Edward looked up and locked his eyes on her. He looked… feral.

_He's looking at me like I'm something he wants to eat. Oh please, please, please…_ she thought.

Edward very carefully set down his cup of coffee and slowly and deliberately looked her up and down while he walked over to her. Without a word, he grabbed her and pulled her flush against him, devouring her mouth and guiding them down onto the couch. He settled her into his lap and right onto his erection, making them both gasp and moan and wish there was no clothing in the way. Edward slipped one hand under her shirt and one into her pants as she wrapped her hand around him to stroke him. He latched his mouth onto her breast on top of her shirt first, then used his chin to push it aside and get hold of her bare skin.

"Damn," he grunted. "Too fucking long, Bella."

Bella agreed with a moan, biting on his ear because it was the closest thing she could get her mouth on.

Neither of them heard the front door open.

"Holy shit! Alice! I thought you said Edward didn't know what hot monkey sex is and we'd never see him going at it in the living room?!" yelled Emmett.

Edward and Bella looked towards the front door to see _Everyone_ standing there. The very worst part of it was that Esme and Renee were included in the group of Everyone.

"Oh no.. No, no, no…" whispered Bella. "Tell me I'm hallucinating, Edward. Tell me this isn't real," she whined.

"Erm… I guess you guys didn't get my message. Esme and Renee are here to join us dress shopping for the fund raiser," giggled Alice. "At least the Dads aren't here."

"Should we give you guys a few more minutes?" laughed Renee, causing Esme to give a surprisingly unladylike snort in response.

"Not necessary. You've pretty effectively killed the mood," growled Edward as he frowned in frustration. "Bella, I have to go with my Mom this afternoon. I won't see you until the fund raiser, unless you can come earlier."

"I don't see how I can. I've got classes, exams, I have to get my draft done…" she said while desperately trying to figure out what she could shirk in order to get to him sooner.

"Do your work. It's important. I'll wait for you. Just… be ready. Because _when_ I take you, I am not going to hold back." His voice, low and husky in her ear nearly undid her right then.

A little while later, when she was dressed and ready to go shopping, Edward stopped her at the door. He pulled her into an embrace and kissed her deeply, peppering kisses on her neck and breathing in her scent. "Make it sexy," he demanded.

"What?" she struggled to reply from the haze of lust he was stirring up in her.

"Your dress. Make it sexy."

"Don't worry. I'm going shopping with our moms. Most moms would be trying to cover up their daughters. Our moms will be trying to get me to show as much skin as possible," she grumbled.

Esme and Renee popped their heads around the door, giggling some more at the sight of Edward and Bella making out.

"Cleavage and leg, Moms. I like cleavage and leg," Edward said with a wink, wrapping his arms around Bella's waist as she turned a deep shade of crimson.

Renee replied, "I plan on getting her into something with a bare back, a nice slit in the leg, a plunging neckline… I'll make sure she's sexy for you!" she trailed off as Bella pulled her down the hall, desperately trying to shush her.

Dress shopping with their moms was as grueling as she thought it would be, but eventually, after only minimal public humiliation, Bella found the right dress for her – or actually, for Edward to see her in.

While they were ordering their lunch, everyone observed Bella as she seemed to put into action every single tick she could from biting her nails to bouncing her feet to twirling her hair.

"Someone's sexually frustrated," laughed Rosalie.

"After this morning, what do you expect? They were going at it pretty hot and heavy," replied Esme.

"Edward looks like a really good kisser. Good with his hands, too" Renee said as she unwrapped her silverware.

Alice went to speak, but Bella cut her off. "It would be nice if at least one person at this table would refrain from discussing my sex life this afternoon," she growled while glaring at the others.

"Bella, I was going to speak in your defense," sniffed Alice. "With your flu and your period and as much as you both have been working, you probably haven't had much alone time, have you?"

Bella sighed, defeated, knowing that she could not get out of this conversation. "Nineteen days," she sighed.

Sympathetic groans came from all the women at the table and also, Bella was embarrassed to note, from their server, Sarah.

"Don't worry, darling. When Edward sees you in that dress, he won't be able to keep his hands off of you." Renee patted her leg in sympathy.

"But that's four days away," Bella cried before suddenly realizing that she was about to bemoan her lack of sexual activity with her mother and future mother-in-law. "No more. This conversation is over. No!" she insisted as Renee looked ready to start up again. "I'm not talking about this with you or Esme," she said in a mortified tone.

Renee laughed before turning to Esme and saying, "Perhaps we should get her a bullet like the ones we ordered online last week. It might help her pass the time."

Rosalie snorted her drink and both Bella and Alice covered their ears and begged their mothers to change the topic.

"A bullet? Which one did you get?" asked Sarah.

~*~*~

Rosalie came over that night to sympathize with Bella in her loneliness. Emmett had been drafted to help with heavy lifting and other brute strength tasks, so he had joined Alice, Edward, Alice and Jasper at the Cullen's house. Rosalie, like Bella, wouldn't be able to join them until the evening of the formal dinner in two days.

Halfway through a mediocre romantic comedy and three quarters of the way through a bottle of wine, Bella threw her head back and sighed.

Rosalie took a long sip of her wine and laughed. "You are really wound up, aren't you? Weren't you still a virgin just a month ago?"

"Rose. You have no idea. Nineteen fucking days."

Rosalie lifted an eyebrow and hummed in amusement. "I don't think I've ever heard you use that word, Bella. Well. You can't get laid, but you can make sure that Edward is just as desperate as you are. Use his webcam and send him a show. Or at least send him some naughty text messages. Do something!"

Bella's brow furrowed as she thought about it. "I don't think I want to send him pictures of me. I can just imagine that with my luck, they'd end up in some public place for everyone to see. But... links!"

Rosalie looked baffled.

"I'll send links to the lingerie I bought to go under my dress. Maybe write him a dirty little poem or something."

This time, Rosalie looked impressed. "Put that English major to good use. Write him some erotic haiku or something."

Halfway through the next bottle of wine, Rosalie and Bella hit 'send' amidst a fit of giggles before Rosalie crashed in Alice's room and Bella snuggled into the warm blankets on Edward's bed, huffing his scent like a crazy person.

~*~*~

The next morning, Edward woke up painfully hard and tremendously cranky. He headed into the shower, soaped up and let his hands and thoughts roam while he sought some relief. It wasn't close to being good enough, but it should help him get through at least breakfast without biting anyone's face off. He could never remember being this wound up, except for when he and Bella were living together but hadn't yet started dating.

Clean and dressed and slightly more relaxed, he headed down to breakfast, poured a cup of coffee after kissing Esme on the cheek and pulled up his messages on his iPhone. He perked up immediately when he saw the message from Bella. The subject line was "_Thought you'd like to see what goes under the dress."_

_Holy shit, _Edward thought. _That's just..._

The model was nowhere near close to being the girl he wanted to see, but she was a brunette and Edward could very clearly picture Bella in what was being modeled. Edward had been dead wrong. He wasn't even going to make it through breakfast. But it got even worse when he read her email.

_Edward, Rosalie and I are hanging out missing our guys. It's not the same without you. But your absence inspires me to think poetically._

_Roses are red,_

_Violets are blue,_

_I'm feeling horny,_

_How about you?_

Edward chuckled, wondering how much Rose and Bella had to drink before she sent his email. But what followed made him swallow hard and shift in his chair.

_My favorite poem came to mind while I was... missing you. I made a few slight changes so it would say exactly how I feel right now:_

_I think I should have fucked you presently,_

_And rubbed myself in earnest against your hard chest;_

_And lifted orgasmed eyes for you to see,_

_And caught your cock against my cheek and breast;_

_And all my pretty panties flung aside_

_That won you to me, and beneath your gaze,_

_Naked of clothing and full of lust,_

_Spread like a chart my little wicked legs._

_I, that had been to you, had you remained,_

_But one more waking from a sexy dream,_

_Cherish no less the certain making out I gained, _

_And walk our apartment's halls, horny, hungry,_

_A ghost in marble of a girl you knew,_

_Who plans to fuck you in a day or two._

Edna St. Vincent Millay might have just rolled over in her grave, but Edward had never read a poem he'd liked more.

There was more. "_Edward, I just wanted you to know how much I've been... thinking about you. Missing you. I'll be sleeping in your bed tonight, with my hand between my legs, wishing it was yours. Love – Bella."_

Edward groaned aloud before he recalled that he was at the table with his mother (who was smothering a smirk), his father (who laughed aloud) and Emmett (who was trying to sneak a look at Edward's phone). He suddenly felt the need to get back in the shower.

_Holy shit, Bella. You'll be the death of me._

~*~*~

The next few days were, literally, painful. Bella ached like she never had before and her nipples were very upset to be so far away from Edward. They had spent the last few nights whispering and groaning their way through nightly phone calls, but it was never enough. If anything, it made her even more hungry for him than she had been.

As she and Rosalie pulled into the parking lot of the hotel that was hosting the charity benefit, both of them were wound tight. Rosalie planned on whisking Emmett off to some quiet corner for a little catching up before the evening started, but Bella knew that she wouldn't have the chance to do anything like that with Edward.

Alice had called her in advance and warned her to behave as Edward's help was necessary to the smooth running of the evening. Alice solemnly informed her that all of the Cullen family's hope rested on Bella fighting Edward off, since he clearly had no self control when she was around and would, if not handled properly, rip Bella's dress off on sight.

The thought appealed to Bella for a few moments, until she remembered that her parents were going to be there. Charlie was not likely to survive even a minimal amount of PDA, much less full on copulation. _Damn. _Also, this was her first appearance in 'society' with Edward and she knew people would be interested in the girl who'd taken Edward off the market. She didn't think they needed graphic visual evidence of how much Edward liked her.

They stopped at the check in counter to leave their bags to be taken up to their rooms. Esme had booked them all rooms in the hotel so they could all stay and be social and not have to worry about designated drivers or taxis. Rosalie seemed agitated and drummed her fingernails against the counter before grabbing Bella's arm and tugging her to the side of the room. The serious expression on her face made Bella worry. "Rose? What's wrong?"

"You are not ready for this. Bella... I feel like I've failed as a friend."

Bella just stared at her, boggled.

"I know that Alice told you that you have to keep your hands to yourself and not pull Edward away for any naughtiness. I should have helped you grow immune, but I didn't think about it until we were in the car. I'm sorry, Bella. I suck."

"Rose. What the hell are you talking about."

"Tux," growled Rose. Seeing that Bella still didn't understand, she sighed. "I've been to these events twice before. You know that Edward and Carlisle are good looking men, but are totally not my type, right?" Bella nodded, trying to keep up. "I'd met Carlisle once before we went to one of these formal things a few years ago. Good looking, but... whatever. Then I saw him in a tux. Good God, Bella. You have no idea. Emmett looks great in a tux, but the Cullen men... No good. You have to see it, then you'll get it."

She tugged Bella's arm lightly, taking a path away from the main doors and round to the entrance the staff would use.

"Just peek in until you see either Edward or Carlisle. You'll see what I mean," she sighed.

She saw Esme first, and smiled. She looked lovely and happy and totally in her element. Then the most gorgeous man Bella had ever seen walked up and settled his hand on the small of Esme's back. Bella was surprised that someone other than Carlisle would be so intimate with Es... "Oh my fuck," Bella gasped.

This was one of the most profoundly awkward moments of her life: the moment she felt full on lust for her future father-in-law. He was amazingly gorgeous in his tux.

"See!" Rosalie squeaked out. "It's ridiculous, isn't it? I mean, I would never... he's... I mean, no. Off limits.. but..." she sighed.

Bella nodded quietly, desperately looking around for Edward's bed headed mop of hair. She now fully understood why Rosalie was doing this. If she wasn't prepared, she was positive that her dress would drop itself to the floor when she saw Edward.

Her nipples saw him first. They were like diabolical homing beacons, somehow knowing when Edward was in the vicinity even when the rest of her body hadn't found him.

His hair was slightly more tame and he'd clearly shaven in the morning, but a slight bit of stubble was already appearing. There was simply no room in her mind for the way he looked. No words in her vocabulary, no lines from poems or films, could properly describe him. Nothing was appropriate other than the dropping of her dress and offering of her body to him for his pleasure.

She didn't know what to do. She couldn't allow him near her in public dressed like that. The sheer force of his sexiness would make her zipper open without a touch. Her nipples were struggling to set themselves free as her eyes locked on his lips and his amazing, long, sexy fingers.

She looked at Rose in panic. "I can't believe this! I'm going to embarrass myself by falling to my knees and giving him a blowjob as soon as I get near him! I won't be able to sit next to him at dinner because I'll climb in his lap by sheer reflex. I'll have some massive Freudian slip and start with sex related word vomit instead of being able to carry on normal conversation. This is a society event and I'm going to look like some low class sex fiend! Damn. That tux is my kryptonite."

Bella sighed and rested her head on the wall for a minute. After a bit, she had to shake Rose to get her to stop looking at Carlisle.

"We can do this, Bella. The trick is to get good and dazzled now and get immune to it."

But Rose sounded like she was trying to convince herself just as much as she was Bella. Finally, Emmett came into view and Rose sighed happily. "Poor guy. All those little finger foods annoy him so badly. If I don't get to him soon, he'll start quoting Spinal Tap in a bad British accent. _'There's a problem here, I don't even know where to start... this miniature bread, it's like, I've been working with this for about a half an hour now- I can't figure out…'_ And then he'll just take the plate from the server and eat too many. Silly boy."

As Rose walked away, she gave Bella a pointed look and a thumbs up. "Remember, legs together, hands to yourself. You can do it!"

_Right_, thought Bella. _Legs together, hands to myself. I can do this._ She braced herself and walked around to the main door.

Edward was doing his best to be properly social. Part of being a Cullen was embracing the causes dear to his parents' heart and this particular fund raiser was very important to them. He made the rounds of the socialites and their annoying daughters, shook hands with the other doctors and deflected the ever sensitive implications that he should have followed in his father's medical footsteps and the equally astonished wonder that he was engaged to the daughter of a Chief of Police instead of a Chief of Surgery or a CEO. The whole time, he kept one eye on the door waiting for Bella to arrive.

He saw Rose walk in and head straight for Emmett, but he didn't see Bella anywhere. He scanned the room again disappointed, forcing himself to plaster on a smile for one of his mother's friends. Halfway into a conversation about nothing important, he felt her, or at least his cock did. Like some bizarre weather vane, his cock forced him to turn around and face the door so it could point right at Bella.

He'd hoped for her to be in a sexy dress tonight. He'd wanted her to choose a dress that would show lots of skin that he could brush his hands against as they tried their best to participate in civilized conversation and a normal dinner. He'd hoped that her hair would be down so he could run his hands through it. Wanted sexy heels that would be high enough to make her legs lean and long. Craved to be close enough to smell her skin and feel her warmth.

It was all so wrong. He should have wished that she'd be dressed up like a nun, or concealed in a head-to-toe veil. He was never, ever going to make it through this night without abandoning his Cullen-ly duties. She was devastatingly sexy in her dress and all he wanted to do was slide it off of her and bury himself in her for all the world to see. He felt himself grow hard and was glad that his jacket and the low lights would prevent it from being too obvious to everyone. He had to get to her and get her out of there. He had to have her. Right now.

Just as he started to weave through the crowd, fully intent on her immediate abduction and ravishing, Charlie walked into his line of vision. "Edward. I see you've found Bella," Charlie frowned.

_Oh shit._ This was all kinds of awkward.

"Edward, I don't fool myself that by this point the two of you are... still in possession of your virtue," Charlie muttered looking nearly as uncomfortable as Edward. "Just... try to remember that this really isn't Bella's scene with all of these society people. Not mine either, but Renee seems to be having fun." Charlie tugged at his collar as he looked around at the Botoxed and expensively coiffed crowd of women who were watching Edward's every move. "I trust that tonight you won't behave in any way that will make people like Muffy or Fifi or whatever their names are, take your engagement to Bella less seriously."

Charlie looked at Edward for a moment, nodded and walked away. He'd very effectively leashed the horndog inside of Edward. Charlie was right. These women were piranhas and would never stop talking about the girl who got it on with the Cullen boy in the service elevator at the hospital benefit gala, fiancee or not.

He composed himself and walked up to Bella and his mother with determination. Esme's eyes lit up when she saw Edward approach and she signaled to Bella to turn around. Bella slowly turned and their eyes locked. Edward took her left hand, being sure to expose her engagement ring, and kissed it. "Mom, mind if I steal Bella for a dance before dinner starts?"

"Of course not dears, just try to steer clear of Mrs. Crowley. She's around here somewhere and I believe she was planning on having Tyler and Jessica come tonight as well."

Edward rolled his eyes, but Bella just laughed it off as he led her to the dance floor.

"We haven't danced since that wedding," Edward whispered in her ear as he took her in his arms. "You look lovely tonight Bella."

Bella couldn't help but blush and bite her lip as she foraged for a word adequate to describe how he looked. She decided that full disclosure was best. "Edward, when I saw you tonight, I nearly combusted. We have to find more occasions to get you into a tux."

"I can certainly think of one occasion I will definitely be in a tux for, and not soon enough for my liking."

"So it's true? You're engaged?" Jessica's nasal and grating voice broke their reverie. "My, my, Swan. You work fast."

Jessica was standing near them, Tyler firmly in tow, filling out her formal gown a bit too fully.

With his hand on her back, Edward could feel Bella's muscles tense in a fight or flight reaction. _Fight_, he thought. _Take her down_.

"I don't know," Bella mused. "It seemed like normal timing to me. He was single, I was single, we dated, we got engaged. That seems like the normal, civilized way to do things. Oh," she smirked. "Not you went about it absolutely the wrong way or anything. It worked out so well for you. It looks like congratulations are in order. When is the baby due?" she asked, gesturing toward's Jessica's rounded belly currently squeezed into a dress that looked a size or two too small for her.

Jessica grimaced and whipped around, yanking Tyler by the arm. "I thought you told me this dress didn't make me look fat!" She continued to give him an earful as she stormed off.

Bella looked sheepish. "You know, I actually did think she was pregnant. I wasn't just being catty," she mumbled.

"Love, if anyone has the right, you do and everyone here knows it."

They got seated for dinner with their families and friends and enjoyed themselves. It was even tolerable for Edward when people continually came up to them to offer congratulations on his engagement. He'd expected it to be awkward, but he was nothing but proud to have everyone know Bella was his. They settled in with dessert and wine in preparation for the presentation he'd spent weeks working on that detailed the financial needs of the hospital and their targets for development in the coming year. Edward was feeling confident and rather smug that he'd made it through the evening without groping Bella or dragging her off for inappropriate fondling.

But then the lights went down and the glow of the screen and small candles on the table drew his attention to the exposed skin of Bella's back, neck, arms, throat, and thigh.

He grew more and more tense with every minute that passed as his cock stirred and his breath grew ragged. He could only describe himself as starved for her, desperately needing to have her. He almost sat on his hands as he imagined the feel of her under his fingertips. Edward pondered whether or not the table cloth provided ample privacy for him to lift up her dress and stroke her thighs.

He was glad he'd designed the presentation himself so he could chat about it afterwards. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had a clue what it was about, since all he could think about was getting Bella out of here and up to their room.

Bella cursed to herself as the lights went out. All night she'd found herself distracted by the way Edward looked. The candles set off the beauty of his eyes, he was one of the few men in the room who looked comfortable in his tux, and his smile was amazing, even if it was forced from time to time.

Once they were seated, it was even worse as his scent and warmth wafted over her bare skin. She started keeping tally of how many times she crossed and recrossed her legs, but finally gave up at fourty two. She was going to die from this need, and he wasn't even aware of it. Bella was ashamed to see that he didn't even seem to be thinking anything like the dirty thougths that were currently running rampant through her head. She clenched and unclenched her fists, trying to keep her focus on the presentation in case anyone asked her about it, but it was a lost cause.

When the lights finally came back up, they both sighed in relief. Edward turned to her and lifted a hand to run his fingers down her cheek to her jaw. "I love you," he sighed before turning to answer a question from Emmett.

For the rest of the night, Bella and Edward remained at each other's side, always touching lightly, whispering sweet words when they weren't forced to converse with others. Edward steered Bella away from the nastiest of the society types, happily introducing her to the ones he liked. At one point, he danced with Renee, while Charlie danced with Esme and Bella danced with Carlisle. Bella had blushed tremendously when Carlisle asked her to dance, but Edward figured it was because she wasn't the most confident of dancers. When Bella and Carlisle were done, Rosalie was waiting for her turn and she winked and grinned at Bella. Edward would have to ask her about that later.

All of the little touches, the dancing, and the looks of longing were adding up to a tremendously arousing amount of foreplay. Their looks went from flirty to scorching. The touches went from light brushes of finger tips to slow, sensual carresses. They danced slower, held each other closer. It never went beyond what was appropriate, Edward guessed, because Charlie wasn't shooting him Police-Chief-Dad looks, but it was all clearly building up the tension.

The tension of the evening, combined with the tension of twenty one days of abstinence was killing them. When Esme noticed Edward check his watch for the sixteenth time in seven minutes, she decided to put them out of their misery.

"Go," she said in Edward's ear. "You look like you're about to explode," she laughed.

Edward rolled his eyes and Bella blushed in mortification. It was not exactly comfortable to have one's parents notice one's sexual frustration.

No matter.

Within seconds, Edward had swung Bella by the table to grab her purse, breezed her past her parents and their friends to say goodnight, gotten her into the elevator, up to their floor and into their room.

He hung up the 'Do Not Disturb' sign, locked the extra locks, kicked off his shoes and pressed her up against the wall and locked them in a deep, hot kiss.

"Twenty one fucking days," he growled before stepping back and then dropping to his knees. He grabbed the hem of her dress and slid his hands up her thighs, baring her skin to him. "I'm hungry."

~*~*~*~

**A/N: My deepest aplogies to Edna St. Vincent Millay for my use/abuse of her lovely poem "I Think I Should Have Loved You Presently." I promise not to leave you hanging for too long, but in the meantime, feel free to use the end of the story as a start for your own imaginings! For your visuals, I highly suggest that you google a picture of His Hotness Rob Pattinson on Oscar night.**


	14. Chapter 14: Begging For Sweet Relief

_**Chapter 14: **__**Begging for sweet relief**_

_Within seconds, Edward had swung Bella by the table to grab her purse, breezed her past her parents and their friends to say goodnight, gotten her into the elevator, up to their floor and into their room._

_He hung up the 'Do Not Disturb' sign, locked the extra locks, kicked off his shoes and pressed her up against the wall and locked them in a deep, hot kiss._

"_Twenty three fucking days," he growled before stepping back and then dropping to his knees. He grabbed the hem of her dress and slid his hands up her thighs, baring her skin to him. "I'm hungry."_

~*~*~*~

When Edward had pulled Bella behind him as they escaped to their room, his need for her had been overwhelming. He couldn't think clearly, couldn't move fast enough, couldn't wait to just _have her_.

But now here she was, all his to have, and he couldn't bear to think about it being over. He wanted to enjoy her for as long as possible, in every way possible.

On his knees, he pressed his face into her chest. "Bella," he sighed. "I love you."

He thought he heard her whimper a response as he felt her hands thread through his hair and across his forehead. He pressed soft kisses into her stomach while feathering his hands up and down her sides. Distracting himself from the urge to press his face between her thighs and into where he wanted to be the most, he stood up and stepped back a bit. He shrugged out of his jacket and set it on the back of a chair before extending his hand to Bella and inviting her further into the room.

Bella was eventually able to muster up enough coherence to propel herself forward and walk past Edward as she moved closer to the window of the room, pausing to take a look at the view. She began to tug her hair out of the pins Rosalie had put in and toed off her shoes. Turning to Edward, she smiled. "I have missed you. I can't believe how difficult it's been to think of anything but you."

Keeping her eyes trained on his, she pulled down the last pinned up bits of hair, then moved her hands to her zipper. "Do you have any idea the thoughts that have gone through my head while you've been away?" she asked as she let the dress fall off of one shoulder. Before he could speak, she continued. "I used to be a very rational girl. I didn't spend all of my time thinking about boys and sex. I thought about books and history and philosophy and all sorts of things other than boys. You've ruined me. Corrupted me. Now all I can think about is you, and I'm not sure that having a boy on the brain all the time is a good thing." She shrugged before continuing. "I can't keep only thinking about you, you know. I figure it's like someone on a diet trying not to think about chocolate – the best thing I can do is to go ahead and have a little taste and then I can concentrate on other things." She looked at him expectantly. "What are you waiting for? Strip. Now."

Edward looked surprised for all of two or three seconds before his habitual smirk crept back across his face. "_Boy?_ Did I just hear you refer to me as a boy? And really, Bella, a _little_ taste? I'm offended that you would even use that word." He let his eyes slide up and down her body as he slowly began to unbutton his shirt. "Take the rest of your clothes off, darling. Once we get started, there is nothing else you will want to be concentrating on tonight, I assure you."

"How did your poem go?" he asked as he unbuckled his belt and let his pants fall._ "I think I should have fucked you presently, And rubbed myself in earnest against your hard chest…" _

Bella slid her hands to her waist as she continued with more lines of the poem she'd corrupted.

"_And all my pretty panties flung aside_

_That won you to me, and beneath your gaze,_

_Naked of clothing and full of lust,_

_Spread like a chart my little wicked legs."_

As the last of her clothing fell from her, Edward launched himself forward, pinning her against the window and filling his mouth with a breast. Bella sighed in contentment, letting her hands roam as he worshipped her body.

~*~*~*~

"I am so thankful for late check out," Edward said as he let his lips and hands roam across the very naked skin of a very tired Bella.

"Insatiable," she mumbled into her pillow, before rolling over. Edward grunted in agreement as he climbed on top of her, wrapping his hands around her thighs. "I love it," she laughed, pulling his face to hers and letting him settle in between her legs.

A few hours later, with only minutes to spare before mandatory check out time, they finally stumbled to the front desk, sore, tired, and ecstatically happy. Edward's hand seemed to be permanently settled just under the hem of Bella's sweater, smoothing over her warm flesh and provoking her to squirm closer to him as they waited to turn in their room key. Bella had just finished whispering something naughty into Edward's ear and following it up with a nibble on his earlobe when they heard a simultaneous giggle and groan.

"Oh, Charlie. They're just so cute!"

Bella bit down a bit too hard on Edward's ear before shutting her eyes and hanging her head. "Morning, Mom and Dad."

Charlie grunted, staring at Edward's hand, which was still underneath Bella's sweater.

"Sir," Edward said, yanking his hand back as if he'd been burnt, making Charlie smile.

Renee kissed both Bella and Edward on their cheeks, and asked if they'd had a good night. Charlie hunched his shoulders and turned away muttering something about _more than he needed to know_. She winked and started to tell them about their room and the firm mattress, but was distracted by Esme and Carlisle walking into the lobby. Carlisle's hand was underneath Esme's sweater and Charlie rolled his eyes, saying, "Well, guess I know where he gets it from."

"Ahh…a good time was had by all, I suppose! Deprivation makes for fireworks, doesn't it?" Renee giggled, pulling Esme away from their mortified children and towards the front door as they started gossiping.

~*~*~*~

Christmas was spent with both families together, taking turns at who was hosting which meal or football game. When Renee and Esme weren't mapping out their latest fan fiction endeavor (and deciding just how far they could go before they exceeded the ratings level), they were poring over magazines and websites with Alice and Rosalie, making plans for Edward and Bella's still undecided wedding. No date had been settled on, no venue chosen, nothing other than the people involved had been planned out. Bella figured that when it was time to decide, she could look at the fully laid out plans suggested by the moms and her friends.

Edward and Bella decided to make Christmas cookies and Emmett had requested that they make sugar cookies. Simple enough. It was Emmett's first Christmas away from his family, as he'd decided to stay with Rosalie, and he was beginning to feel homesick for his grandmother's cookies.

But simple wasn't so simple after all. Emmett's memory of his grandmother's secret recipe sugar cookies was helpful in letting him reject the cookies he was offered, but useless in suggesting what made them special. Bella tried every combination she could think of. Salted butter and unsalted. Crisco instead of butter. Margarine instead of butter. Half margarine and half Crisco. Almond extract? Lemon? Orange peel? Nothing worked. Each time, he would smile sadly and compliment the cookies but say they just weren't quite right.

Edward was now following a cranky, grumbling Bella through the supermarket, pushing the cart helpfully and doing his best to stay out of her way. "Secret recipe…simple my ass…picky bastard…" He could hear only bits and pieces of what she was saying, and that was more than enough. As they passed the cooler case with pre-made cookie dough, Edward tried to lighten the mood by suggesting they just buy some of the convenient tubes. Bella stopped dead in her tracks and Edward made sure he was hidden behind the cart, just in case she threw something at him.

She turned around slowly, grinning. "I love you."

Once they were home, Bella quickly sliced the tubes open, took out the dough and buried the wrappers deep in the trash bin. As the first batch was finishing in the oven, Emmett came barging into the kitchen, dragging Rosalie behind him and swept Bella up in a hug. "You did it! That's it! That's the smell." He bent down to peer in the oven. "My grandma's recipe! How did you figure it out? What's the secret?"

Bella looked at Rosalie and said, "I'll tell Rosalie later."

"Bella, you know I can't cook for shit."

"Trust me Rose, this is one thing you can make. I promise."

~*~*~*~

**A/N:** If you're still reading my story at this point, you're a saint. I feel horrible for waiting so long to post, but my personal life has been a mess and I chose to focus on that. Things are better now, and I finally feel like I got my writing mojo back. It's hard to write fluffy romance when your own life is the antithesis of that, you know? Plus (and if you write, you know this happens sometimes) Edward and Bella are not doing what I planned for them in the future chapters. They just wouldn't. It threw me for a loop. But they're talking to me again, so here we go! (Oh, and the cookie story? Trufax ordeal with my father-in-law.)


	15. Chapter 15: What If I Do?

_**What if I do?**_

_Do not spoil what you have by desiring that which you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. ~Epicurus_

"We're hosting the Cullen Easter Bruch here this year, or so Alice informs me. Your parents, my parents, my grandparents . . ."

"Hmm." Bella was barely paying attention, as she was currently trying to reach her favorite coffee mug. Edward had apparently pushed it a little too far back on one of the higher shelves, so she had to jump up a bit to grab it.

"Damn," Edward whispered.

"What's wrong?" Bella turned around, adjusting her tank top which had ridden up as she'd stretched for the mug. She noticed how Edward's eyes were glazed and fixated on her breasts and he was adjusting himself. "Perv," she laughed, rolling her eyes. "I can't believe you're still doing that on purpose." She walked to him and sat down on his lap, rubbing against him and kissing his stubbly jaw.

He slipped one hand up under her shirt and used the other to trace her smile. "Yep. When I'm a dirty old man, I'll still be ogling you."

"Eww," Alice whined, wrinkling her nose. "You're going to be as bad as Grandpa."

Edward rolled his eyes. "I aspire to it."

"The grandparents I'm meeting at Easter?" Bella asked. "Should I be afraid?"

"Not afraid. Just . . . prepared. Let's just say that Alice and I haven't ever walked in our parents in really compromising situations, but we've all seen more of our grandparents than anyone would ever want to," explained Edward.

"Repeatedly," snorted Alice.

Later that day, Bella came home from university after the class she taught and heard music coming from Edward's room. He was in the middle of some sort of project helping out a friend who was trying to write a vampire-related graphic novel. Edward had agreed to help with the concept art for the female protagonist—a vampire with a dark and kinky side who could also pull off the 'naughty librarian' look. Bella was curious to see how Edward would take such a typical male fantasy and make it into something new and fresh.

She quietly sat down in a chair in the corner of the room, enjoying the music and watching Edward at work. He had glasses on, which was unusual for him as he preferred contacts. The thick, black frames were the epitome of the sexy geek look. He had one pencil tucked behind his ear and was chewing on another. His forehead was furrowed and his lips in a pout as he paused, scrutinizing his work. He groaned in frustration, dropping his head down to rest on the table.

"Stressed?" Bella asked.

"Holy f—! Bella! I didn't hear you come in. You scared the shit out of me," he said, panting from the adrenaline rush. Once he'd relaxed a bit, he waved her over. "Yeah, I'm stuck. She needs more . . . something."

Bella stepped over and looked at the drawings, startled to see a girl who looked a lot like her. "Well, Edward, for starters she looks too much like me. She's supposed to be a super-sexy-vamp, not the girl-next-door type."

Edward let his gaze slide down her body and back up again, reaching out his fingers to unbutton the top few buttons of her shirt. He slid his hands up under her skirt and stroked her skin. "She's my fantasy, all right. I think the only problem is that she looks exactly like you. I don't want lots of other guys getting off to pictures of you and that's making some sort of mental roadblock for me. I've tried to make her less like you, but I can't. Maybe I'll just keep these for myself and start over."

"Hmm . . . You know, vampire fantasies are thought to represent a lot of different things. Pure carnality; sex without virtue or restraint; corruption of innocence." Bella carded her fingers through his hair and nipped his earlobe. "What sort of naughty-girl-next-door-kinky-librarian-vampire fantasies do you have? Hmm? Perhaps," she let her hand squeeze between his legs, "the desire to be consumed orally?"

He spread his legs wide and smirked. "I'm not sure, but perhaps we should research it. I'm willing to suffer for my art."

* * *

The Cullen Easter Brunch, which Alice had so graciously offered to host despite her lack of cooking skills, was quite an affair. Bella, Edward and Jasper had spent the weekend preparing food, while Alice and Rosalie had done their best to keep Emmett out of the kitchen. Now, both Bella and Edward's parents, Edward's grandparents, Jasper's parents, and Rose and Emmett were all in the apartment having coffee and eating everything in sight.

Meeting Edward and Elizabeth Cullen, the grandparents, was very interesting. They were lovely, intelligent, cultured, sweet, still clearly in love and . . . horny. Bella had walked into the kitchen to get more muffins only to see Grandpa Ed's face snuggled into Grandma Libby's cleavage. Grandma Libby's smile was a mile wide, too, as she winked at Bella. "I'll bet your Edward can give mine a run for his money in the bedroom department. You're a lucky girl, my dear. My Ed is hung like a horse, and yours takes after him in height and build so I bet you have lots to enjoy!"

Grandma Libby's voice was surprisingly loud for such a small lady. All conversation in the living room had come to a halt.

"Well? I bet it's nice, isn't it? All the Cullen men are blessed and they all know how to worship their women's bodies, don't they, Esme?" Libby called out.

Bella heard the sound of Esme choking on whatever she was drinking and the distinct sound of her own mother snorting. "Esme? Are you a lucky girl?" asked Renee.

Bella turned around to see Esme goose Carlisle and heard him squeak in surprise. "No more mimosas!" he shouted.

"Pish posh, Carlisle. If you're too shy to talk to your children about the birds and the bees, I'll be glad to do it. After all, we Cullen men have a responsibility to pass along our learning." Grandpa Ed had resurfaced and sat down next to Emmett.

"It's covered, Grandpa." Edward laughed when his grandfather looked disappointed.

"Emmett could use some new tips," Rosalie said encouragingly and Grandpa Ed launched into an explanation of special tongue exercises his wife had benefitted from.

Bella did not miss that her father was also listening in. This was by far the most interesting and unexpected family gathering ever.

She loved it, and a glance at Edward showed that he was just as happy as she was. She hoped she and Edward would be just like that when they grew old together. Just. Like. That.

* * *

Things had been going so smoothly for so long that bad news shouldn't have taken her quite so much by surprise.

There were worse things it could have been, Bella realized.

It could have been paternity test results for his baby with another girl.

It could have been a guide to how to tell your girlfriend that you're gay.

It could have been naked pictures of the two of them splashed across some sleazy website.

It could have been many things which would, objectively, have been much, much worse than this. But that didn't make _this_ any easier to see.

Her Master's thesis was submitted, all of her classes were wrapped up, and the only thing left was her defense which was scheduled for the next day. She'd been to the library and back once already, and would probably end up there again. Her printer had run out of ink while she was finishing up her notes, so she'd popped into Edward's room to use his computer. She hadn't meant to be nosy, to invade his privacy. But what she'd seen just now had shocked her to the core. Edward had been offered a very lucrative, very prestigious job offer.

In New Zealand.

Starting in five weeks.

He'd accepted the offer.

But he hadn't said a word about it.

* * *

Edward finished his last lap in the pool, finally giving up his attempt to work off his stress. He was no more relaxed now than when he'd started. This morning's email had turned the day into a complete disaster. He was used to Alice trying to help everyone work everything out. She was constantly compelled to fix and to arrange and to manipulate circumstances with the very best of intentions, bolstered by her faith that everything would work out the way it should. But he couldn't believe that Alice had gone this far.

A few months ago, a friend had let him know of a job opening in a famous New Zealand special effects company. This friend had worked there for a few years and had shown some people there some of Edward's work, generating interest in getting Edward on board before they started their next big feature film. The more rational part of his mind reminded him that he would be absolutely crazy to let this opportunity pass by. But the less rational part of him couldn't do it. He couldn't ask Bella to leave everything behind and follow him.

Well, he could ask, but he wouldn't.

He'd been completely baffled to get the email that morning with the details of salary and travel expenses and holidays, along with a two year contract to sign and send in within the next week. How could he have been given a job he'd never applied for?

He'd sat down to breakfast completely confused and, since Bella had already left early that morning to get a book from the library, he'd told Alice about the strange email. One look at her had confirmed that this was not unexpected news to her. She explained that their friend had written her to see why Edward had not sent in an application. With her usual enthusiasm and confidence, she'd not only sent in his application and portfolio, but later she'd sent back a positive reply to the company's job offer. Without asking him.

He felt both completely blindsided and horrifically tempted. He wanted this job, badly. But he wasn't the only one he had to think about any more. He never would have applied for this job, knowing that he couldn't take it. He wouldn't have let himself be tempted like that.

But he certainly was tempted now. And he hated it.

Under normal circumstances, he could tolerate a lot of Alice's "Alice-isms" like this. After all, they'd brought Bella into his life, along with a lot of other good things as they'd grown up. This, however, was too much—it had been taken too far. They'd argued like they never had before. He had yelled and she had cried; he'd accused her of ruining the best thing he'd had in his life: his contentment. She'd accused him of being short sighted and cowardly for not taking the risk. The worst, though, was when she'd accused him of not having enough trust in Bella.

"She loves you, probably more than you deserve. You're so busy trying to take care of her, trying to keep her 'safe' and make her see that she can rely on you that you've forgotten to think about the other things you want in life. She's the most important thing to you now—I get that—but she's not the _only_ thing. Edward, if you give this chance up, if you never even ask her because you're afraid of her reaction, eventually you'll come to resent the fact that you didn't think you could ask. Not to mention that you're absolutely ridiculous for thinking that this isn't something you could ask of her. You're making this decision for her, without asking her. She's going to be your wife, your partner. Treat her like your equal, not a damsel in need of protection and coddling."

With that, she'd stormed out of their apartment in tears.

His workout and swim had been an attempt to clear his mind before he would see Bella again. It was clearly a pathetic and wasted attempt.

He returned to a quiet apartment, the sound of a program on the History Channel quietly playing letting him know that Jasper was there.

"Hey. Why so sullen, Cullen?" Jasper said. "You and Alice both look like someone just told you there's no Easter bunny."

Edward stiffened. "Is Alice here?"

Jasper shook his head.

"Bella?"

"No, she's not here either. She came back from the library for a little while, but left again in a hurry. I guess she's worried about her defense tomorrow." He shrugged. "Alice just left. She went home to your parents' house for the weekend. Said she needed her mom. Wouldn't tell me what it was about, only that it had something to do with you. You should know, she looked very guilty and very penitent."

Edward explained the whole messed up situation. Jasper grimaced and shook his head and rolled his eyes at all the right times. But once Edward finished his story, Jasper smiled and laughed. "You know that only Alice could have come up with a plan like this, thinking that everything would work out as it should. Her plans have always gone right. Maybe this one will, too."

"How could it possibly turn out well? Now I've got this idea stuck in my head and I can't do anything about it. What the hell am I supposed to say to Bella? 'Hey, I know you just finished your M.A. and planned to get a teaching job, but come and hang out with me in New Zealand while I follow this great opportunity.' Or maybe, 'You know how we were planning to get married in the autumn? Well, let's put that off for two years and live half a world apart while I work in New Zealand and you get a job here.' I'm sure either one of those would go over really well when she comes out of her defense."

Jasper looked at Edward, trying to not let his frustration show. "Why not? Why not ask? Start and finish by telling her you love her and let her choose. Tell her both possibilities." Jasper held up his hand for silence when he saw Edward start to speak. "No. I'm not done. If you love her and respect her as much as you say you do, you'll do her the kindness of letting her know that you want her to be happy, but that you also want her to be there with you. If you trust her, you'll let her decide what's right for her, trusting that she'll also be thinking of what you need and want. If she won't go with you, then you are still in the place you are now, left having to decide what you need to do. But what if she wants to go? What if you could have everything you want? The dream job and the dream girl? How can you not take that chance? Don't decide for her just because you're too scared to ask."

Edward sat beside Jasper in silence, trying to decide what to do next. Eventually, Jasper got up and left, turning on the lights as he did. Edward hadn't even noticed it getting dark. Shortly after, Bella came home, dropping her bag on the floor with a sigh and coming over to sit next to him on the couch. He put his arm around her, holding her close as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Are you scared about tomorrow?" he asked.

"Very." She turned her face upwards to look at him, her eyes showing her worry. Edward tightened his grip on her as he lifted a hand to stroke her cheek. "Kiss me," she whispered. "Make me forget. I just . . . don't want to think right now."

They kissed, furiously and hungrily.

But neither succeeded in making the other forget.

As she lay in the dark, her back pressed against Edward's chest, her mind refused to quiet. She'd succeeded in staying focused on her work for most of the day, continuing to push down the worries and fears that intruded. She was ready enough for her defense, and though she probably should be worried, she wasn't. Or at least, she wasn't worried about that.

He still hadn't told her that he was leaving. She supposed he was being courteous, waiting until after her defense so she could stay focused. When she'd left the library that evening, she'd planned to listen very carefully to everything he'd said and study every bit of eye contact and body language he exhibited. But he hadn't said anything. Not a word about work or travel or future plans. She had no idea what he was going to say or how he would break the news. She had no way to brace herself, unless she let her mind run all possible worst case scenarios.

He could break things off, she supposed, but she didn't think Edward's mind worked like that. That he was the sort who would set aside his personal life for a job. No, she didn't just think it, she knew it.

He could ask for them to postpone the wedding while he went away. That would be bad, but not the worst outcome. Maybe he'd get the chance to come visit at Christmas or something. But she couldn't imagine being apart from him for two years, not when they were this close to having gotten married. They were together every day now, and she couldn't imagine not continuing that way. He was a necessity for her, something she couldn't do without. Had she become, for him, simply an option?

She could analyze it any way she liked, but it came down to one basic question: did she trust him?

He'd never lied to her, never intentionally hurt her. He'd only ever been tender and protective and loving. She had no reason to think that the Edward of today was less worthy of her trust than the Edward of the day before.

If she listened to the part of her that still struggled with insecurity and self-worth, her instincts told her to pull away now, to distance herself from him before he could hurt her.

But that instinct was wrong—she was sure of it. It was time to trust him completely. Just like one of those silly team building games, it was time to close her eyes and fall backwards, trusting that he would catch her before she fell.

Her decision made, she relaxed into his embrace and let herself fall asleep.

Edward, however, did not sleep. He lay in the dark, holding tight to Bella as if she would disappear if he relaxed for even a moment.

The next morning, as Bella dressed for her meeting, Edward sat on her bed, waiting for her and watching her as she prepared. Every few minutes she would squeeze her eyes shut and take a deep breath, consciously relaxing her shoulders and fists which would tighten with stress. She muttered names and dates and titles of books and journal articles as she tried to rehearse her answers to the questions she expected to be asked.

Finally, she stood in front of her mirror and took one more deep breath before turning to Edward. She reached out a hand to smooth the furrows on his forehead. "I love you."

He turned his face to kiss her wrist, then stood up and pulled her into his arms. "You're going to knock them out. I have faith in you. You're more than ready for this. Ready to go?"

* * *

Waiting for someone to finish their defense, he decided, couldn't be much worse than actually being the one interrogated. He couldn't focus on anything other than the door to the room which would not open, no matter how much he stared at it. Not that he knew what to do when it did. He was no closer now to knowing what to do than he was when he took Bella to bed last night. He scrubbed his hands roughly over his face, groaning in frustration as he let his head fall back against the wall.

"I didn't do that badly, you know."

He looked up to see Bella standing in front of him, and by the look on her face, she had clearly done very well. "I'd say you passed, then?"

"With honors, actually."

He stood up, grinning and swooped in for a kiss. "I am so proud of you. I knew you would do well."

"I'm so glad to be done." She looked off towards the hallway window, biting her lip before turning back to look at him. "I got offered a job as an adjunct, teaching. It's only part-time, but . . ."

"Well, then . . . So, will that be what you want? It would give you a chance to write or look for other jobs or—"

"No," she cut him off. "I didn't accept their offer. I told them I needed some time off. That I would apply later, when I was ready."

"But . . . I thought that was what you wanted. To teach. You're so good at it."

"I have time. It's not like I'll forget it all if I don't start right away." She looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to say something.

Edward looked conflicted, like he was afraid to hope for something he wanted very badly. "Bella, I—Alice sent in an application for—" He stopped, trying to figure out the easiest way to explain the whole mess, and was surprised to see Bella roll her eyes.

"Alice. It figures. She means well, but there had to have been a better way to do it."

Edward's brow furrowed again as he tried to follow.

"Edward, I think I might like to take some time off. Maybe write a bit. Or read. I haven't read for pleasure in . . . ages. I'd like to enjoy being married to you, not rush from one thing to the next, you know?" Her tone of voice implied that he should be able to figure out what she was hinting at.

"You know about the job?"

She nodded.

"You're not upset?" he asked. She shook her head, no. "I didn't apply. Alice did it. I wouldn't have done something like that without talking to you about it first." He rushed to explain himself.

She stopped his talking with a kiss. "It's all so simple, Edward. Just ask for what you want."

He cupped her face in his hands. "Marry me now, this week, and come with me."

* * *

**Epilogue**

"_Reader, I married him. __A quiet wedding we had: he and I, the parson and clerk, were alone present.__ "_

Well, that may have been the way that Jane Eyre had gotten married, but Bella and Edward couldn't quite pull off something that simple. They had gotten married within a week of her graduation as she'd prepared to follow him to New Zealand for his new job. Since Alice had been much more involved in the planning for Bella and Edward's autumn wedding than Bella ever had, it was decided that Alice and Jasper would simply shift their wedding into that time slot. Alice was ecstatic and Jasper seemed . . . well . . . Jasper seemed as happy as he ever managed to appear.

Her parents had questioned her intensely about whether this move was the right thing for her. Bella knew that it was. While she did want to teach, and had worked hard to get her degrees, she was tired of being in school, at school, or generally anywhere near school. The time in New Zealand would be a good break for her, not to mention being a much-looked-forward-to extended honeymoon. She planned to use the time to do more reading and research in case she decided to pursue a PhD later, and was enjoying letting some ideas for a novel she could write float around in her brain.

As their plane prepared to touch down in Wellington, Bella closed her well-worn copy of _Jane Eyre_ and looked over at her sleeping husband. The passage she'd just read echoed in her mind:

"_I know what it is to live entirely for and with what I love best on earth. I hold myself supremely blest—blest beyond what language can express; because I am my husband's life as fully is he is mine. No woman was ever nearer to her mate than I am: ever more absolutely bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. I know no weariness of my Edward's society: he knows none of mine . . . we are precisely suited in character—perfect concord is the result."_

Her Edward opened his eyes and smiled at her. "I was just dreaming about the night we met. I'm so glad you answered that ad to be our roommate. I can't imagine my life without you."

"I truly never expected to be so very happy. Whether it was luck or fate or divine intervention, I'm so thankful that all the stars lined up just right and sent me falling into you in that coffee shop. I've never been so glad to be so clumsy."

Edward let his fingers drift across her check and down her neck, dipping just slightly under her shirt to feel the lacey edge of her bra. "If I were my grandfather, I'd have my face buried in your cleavage right now. That shirt . . . you've been torturing me the whole trip with those. You know that, don't you?"

Bella cocked an eyebrow at him. "You aren't the only one who paid attention to Ed and Libby's lessons. We'll be landing soon. Surely you can hold out for just a little while longer?"

He shrugged. "We're on our honeymoon. Public display of affection is required." He pulled her in for a kiss just as the flight attendant passed them.

She cleared her throat lightly. "Please stow your bags and tray tables. We'll be landing shortly."

Without breaking the kiss, Edward kicked his bag under the seat in front of him, latched his tray table and pushed up the window shade.

"Honeymoon?" the flight attendant drawled.

Bella nodded and tried to pull back to answer, but Edward just laughed and pulled her back in for a kiss.

"Enjoy yourselves, then."

"We plan to." Edward slowed the kiss down and smiled at Bella. "Forever."

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you all so much for sticking with my story. I hope that you've enjoyed it. Wrapping up a story is sort of like sending a well-loved child off to college—I'm not quite ready to be done, but it's ready and I hope it turned out well. *quotes from _Jane Eyre_


End file.
